Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3: Carpe Diem
by heat3000
Summary: A series of short stories wrapping up the epilogue from RES. From weddings to revenge. Secret missions to secret relationships. Carpe Diem will bridge the gap between RES and the next fic in the storyline.
1. First Story

Shin Megami Tensei

Persona 3: Carpe Diem

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Persona 3, SMT, or any characters within. They belong to Atlus.

Author's Note: This fic will consist of small stories acting as a tie between the events of RES and the sequel. Yes, a sequel is _already_ in the works.

But before the start of this fic, I'd like to thank the anonymous reviewer who gave me this idea in the first place. You guys want closure from the epilogue in RES? You got it!

**First Story – Will You Marry Me?**

Junpei hadn't exactly been the most charismatic one in his class, in fact, one of the reasons he had friends like Kenji and Minato was so that they could take care of his charisma problems _for_ him.

But, as he was sitting at one of the best tables in one of the fanciest restaurants in Tokyo, waiting for Chidori to return from the bathroom, he realized just how _bad_ of a coward he really was. It cost him five months of his S.E.E.S. salary to buy the ring in his pocket. Not only that, but if Mitsuru hadn't given him a free table at her family's private restaurant, he would've proposed to Chidori at the nearest McDonald's.

_That_ would not have been good at all.

The only thing Mitsuru asked in return was that Junpei return to Yakushima by next week with Chidori by his side and a ring on her finger, he would get a paid vacation until then.

If he failed…

_LAST WEEK – OCTOBER 20, 2011_

_YAKUSHIMA S.E.E.S. HEADQUARTERS_

_Mitsuru Kirijo was busy finalizing plans for S.E.E.S.'s first combat deployment outside of Japan. That being said, Junpei could see her sitting at her computer, in her office, a cell phone in her hand and a pair of glasses in another. If he disturbed her now without an adequate excuse…_

"_Ow!" Junpei yelped as he caught a punch in his arm from out of nowhere. Right there, standing next to him was a grinning Kenji Tomochika._

"_Damn it Kenji, don't you have something better to do than scare the crap out of me – and damn my arm hurts!"_

"_Shut up, Stupei. So I hear you're gonna' propose to Chidori. Huh? Is it true, eh?" Kenji heckled Junpei for the truth, causing Junpei to raise his arms in his own defense and making a "shush" sound._

"_Hey, be quiet will you? I still haven't finalized it yet!" Junpei said in a whisper, glancing over at Mitsuru's office again._

"_What there to finalize, you idiot! Just take her to some place nice that she'll enjoy, buy a ring, and propose. Guaranteed that she'll say yes. Absolute guarantee."_

"_Do you think I have the money for that stuff…hey, wait! Aren't _you_ supposed to be on a mission!?" Junpei asked in the same hushed voice, while Kenji still blabbered on in his "let the world know" tone._

"_Oh, the deployment to America? Yeah, Mitsuru's working on that right now. Since you guys are still on that terror alert list, she's gotta' clear your name somehow, so in the meantime, I'm here for ya' buddy!"_

"_God kill me," Junpei muttered, looking over at Mitsuru's office again as she hung up her cell phone by throwing it against the bulletproof glass and sat down with a sour look on her face._

"_Hey, she's off the phone! Hey, MI – TSU- RU!" Kenji began shouting while he was walking over to Mitsuru's office, prompting her to look in their direction and also force Junpei to tackle Kenji to the ground…_

_PRESENT DAY_

Needless to say, Kenji's antics had gotten Junpei into the scariest situation of his life. In exchange for Mitsuru helping him get into a fancy place, Junpei swore to always be with Chidori (as well as do some "favors" for Mitsuru from time to time). However, despite all these measures, Mitsuru still felt it necessary to have Kenji provide backup via an earpiece and a small camera hidden in Junpei's coat.

Chidori got back from the bathroom after a few minutes, instantly noticing that Junpei hadn't touched his food nor his drink – quite odd, considering in the past six months since they had lived in the Yakushima HQ, Junpei was always the first one to finish his food.

"Junpei, is…something wrong?" Chidori innocently asked as she sat down in her chair, leaning in towards Junpei as she did so.

"No – nothing…nothing's wrong, Chidori," Junpei said quietly, looking down on his food as he did so.

"You haven't touched your food. You're lying," she said flatly, looking at Junpei with a mixture of curiosity and hurt that he wouldn't talk to her about what he was feeling. "Junpei, if there's anything you need to talk about-"

"_Do it man, propose to her now!"_ Kenji shouted through the earpiece, causing Junpei to slightly jump out of his seat. Although, as one of S.E.E.S.'s most talented psychics, she could probably read Junpei's mind right now – but she had far too much respect and love for Junpei to do _that_.

"I…Chidori, have you ever had to…make a difficult choice – life altering – with someone you love?" Junpei asked, causing Kenji to sigh loudly into the earpiece.

"Junpei…" Chidori said his name with a slight emphasis, hoping he would notice that _she_ noticed something was wrong with him, but after a few seconds, she yielded to the question.

"Well…yes…in my…past life," Chidori put her right hand on her left arm. She never did revisit memories from her past life before. Only now that she had someone to care about; someone to _trust_, did she allow herself to revisit those dark days. "There was a boy in my school – actually, it was…do you remember our battle with Takaya six months ago?"

"Yeah, why?"

"In our previous lives…we were lovers. But that all changed after the Shadow Incident…I loved him."

"Do you still-"

"Oh, don't even suggest that!" Chidori shot back, waving her hand in the air. "I loved him back then…but then the _power_ changed him. He's – he's not the boy I fell in love with. Not anymore. But, I have you now Junpei."

"Well…about _that_."

"_Do it now!"_

"Damn it!" Junpei shouted, standing up from his seat with enough force as to force the chair over and cause everyone in the restaurant to look at their table.

"Junpei? About _what_, exactly?" Chidori asked, also standing up. She didn't need to be a psychic in order to read Junpei like an open book.

"It's just…right now, it's so hard to do this-" Junpei said while his legs began to shake.

"So hard for – oh! Well, you could have decided to do this in a less expensive location!" Chidori said, folding her arms in clear annoyance.

"Oh, really? I could have!? That…_would_ have been good to know."

"Yes, I'm sure it would have," Chidori said, grabbing her coat as she turned around and began to leave the restaurant.

"_Junpei, she looks pissed. This is your last chance, buddy." _Kenji said, more serious than he had ever sounded before. But Junpei didn't need Kenji's advice from an earpiece to know that it was now or never, and Junpei chose now.

He ran up to Chidori and grabbed her hand, swinging her around to face him.

"Chidori, wait!"

"What, Junpei! If you were going to break up with me, you couldn't have done it in a more private place? You had to humiliate me!? Is that it!? What did-"

Chidori was hysterical, but Junpei still had that same confused look on his face as the day he met her.

"Break up…what? Where did you get that idea from?"

Chidori felt insulted, ripping her hand away from his sharply and turning her face towards him.

"Junpei, you don't need to be psychic to know what you were about to say…I see it on Yukari's television show's all the time! You have the 'tell-tale signs' that you're about to break up with me!"

"Wha – what!? Geez, American TV is really making this difficult…look, Chidori…" Junpei said as softly as he could to rectify the situation before he totally lost his grip on reality. Once again, he grabbed her by the hand and looked her in the eye, but this time, he knelt down on the ground.

"_Yeah, Junpei! My man! That's it!"_

"Chidori, you have no earthly idea how hard this is for me to say, but…will you marry me?" he said while pulling out a box from his pocket, never taking his gaze away from her.

"_Action, this is observation. Mission accomplished."_ Kenji said over the his headset as he switched comms channels on his dashboard, looking greedily on the television screen where Junpei was proposing.

"_Observation, this is action. Roger, initiating celebrations in ten, nine, eight…"_

"Junpei…" she said quietly as she touched the box with her free hand. He let go of her other hand for just a moment before he got up from his kneeling position and brought the box close to him so that he could open it and show her the ring he'd bought her.

"_Three, two, one; beginning celebrations now."_

"Congratulations!" shouted everyone in the restaurant as Junpei looked into Chidori's eyes, slowly opening the box.

"Oh, shit."

"_Oh, shit?"_

"_What do you mean 'oh shit'? What the hell is that supposed to mean! Answer observation!" _Mitsuru shouted into Kenji earpiece as he looked in awe and wonder as Junpei opened the small velvet box only to reveal a wonderful crimson suede interior with no ring.

"Now, Chidori…about that _ring._" Junpei said, retracting his hands from her and rubbing the back of his head to relief the stress and humiliation. His cheeks were as red as her hair when she came closer to him and removed the box from his hands.

"Well, ring aside, I think I can say yes to that question. I'll admit though, Yukari's soap operas really made me think you were going to leave me, though!" she said, coming in closer to him and whispering those words so close to his ear that he tingled from the warmth of her breath.

Aside from the fact that he just made himself look like a fool in front of several complete strangers who apparently knew when to yell "congratulations" simultaneously – and the fact that he would have to correct Chidori's television habits later on, this was all her could hope for right about now and Chidori hugged him as close as she could.

"_Way to forget the ring, dumbass!" _Kenji shouted into the earpiece, but then, as Junpei hugged his future wife back, he took a small moment to yank the device from his ear and throw in on the ground altogether.

"I guess Yukari won't be the only lucky girl in the H.Q. next week, huh?" Junpei joked, prompting Chidori to pull away from him and bring her nose against his, bringing their faces as close as possible without actually kissing.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean, huh?" she asked in a playful tone, before Junpei answered her with that stupid smile of his before bringing his head close to _her_ ear.

"You, me, weeklong 'vacation'."

"I think I like the sound of that," she whispered back, just as she used her psychic powers to shut down the surveillance camera Junpei had hidden in his jacket.


	2. Second Story

Shin Megami Tensei

Persona 3: Carpe Diem

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Persona 3, SMT, or any characters within. They belong to Atlus.

Author's Note: I'd like to apologize for the "Takehiro Kirijo" used throughout RES. Around the time I was typing the final third of the fic I remembered his name was Takeharu, but I decided it was too late to chance mid-way.

**Second Story – I Need This Done**

NOVEMBER 11, 2011

Sitting there, in the underground garden of the S.E.E.S. headquarters in Yakushima, Mitsuru Kirijo was eager to light up a cigarette. She wasn't a smoker, but she needed one right now, just to take her mind off of things.

Of course, she would have lit one if it weren't for the fact that she was sitting in the middle of the front row of Junpei and Chidori's wedding; arranged, planned, and conducted by S.E.E.S. Junpei wanted a western-style wedding and Chidori really didn't care whether or not the ceremony was conducted in a Japanese manner or not, so this led to S.E.E.S. putting up a western-style wedding with Aigis presiding over it.

"Therefore, do you, Junpei Iori, take Chidori…um…Mitsuru-san?" Aigis asked, mid-sentence. It had been like this for the entire wedding, with Aigis occasionally drifting off course in order to ask questions about "human ceremonial procedure and etiquette". No doubt this question was about Chidori's last name…did she even have one?

"Just forget it Aigis. Junpei, say 'I do'." Mitsuru said. She would've been happier for the two of them had she not had so much on her mind. That and it was her time of month, so, considering her lack of nicotine and her excessive stress levels, she wasn't in the mood to consult Aigis for this wedding anymore.

"Um…I do?"

"Great. Aigis, say the same thing for Chidori and we're done," Mitsuru said hurriedly. It had been a S.E.E.S. only wedding, meaning that everyone here not only knew her personally, but was also her official subordinate. That didn't stop Akihiko and Minato, who were sitting on either side of her, to slowly lean sideways away from Mitsuru.

"Do you, Chidori, taking Junpei Iori to be your husband as defined by human contract and law?"

"Umm…yes?" Chidori asked, the expression on her face telling the crowd that she was totally clueless.

"I shall now pronounce you as a single legal entity! No longer individuals but husband and wife! Junpei, you may now kiss your bride!" Aigis announced, a smile on her face as she clapped her hands together.

Apparently, she was either spending too much time with Ryoji or was malfunctioning. Either way, they were both more problems that Mitsuru wished she didn't have to deal with.

As Junpei and Chidori reached in for a kiss, Mitsuru silently got up from her seat and made a dash for the back exit, snapping her fingers at three individuals along the way: Kenji, Hidetoshi, and Kazushi.

"You, you, and you. Come with me, _now_," she muttered as she walked passed them. They would have obeyed her regardless of what the circumstances were, but now, once the three boys saw the dark look in her eyes, none of them dared to cross her. Hidetoshi was the first to stand up, followed by Kenji and Kazushi. The former two had dressed in formal attire to the wedding, Kazushi's definition of "formal", however, were simple casual clothes: a T-shirt and a pair of jeans.

Looking back upon the relieved faces back at the wedding, Kazushi instantly wished he had bought a suit.

As Mitsuru flung the doors open and entered the primary recreational hallway, Kenji made every effort possible to close the door behind him in a quiet fashion before Mitsuru burst into her tirade.

"All three of you. ANA flight 8709. Narita International by eighteen-hundred hours tonight," she said, rushing into her purse to retrieve a pack of cigarettes she had confiscated off of Yukari as well as a lighter.

"We don't unders-"

Mitsuru rolled her eyes and muttered something unintelligible, before pulling out her cell phone and producing the image of an old white man.

"Mitsuru? Seriously? Does Akihiko know? I-"

"Shut it before I kill you," Mitsuru deadpanned, forcing Kenji to shut up so that she could continue.

"If it weren't for the Americans, S.E.E.S. would be off the UN terror list right now and half of my troubles would be over. But the bastards have failed to see our reasoning! You three will fly down to Florida tonight and arrive just in time to put a little present on their next shuttle launch. If you can kidnap this man as well, that would be appreciated, but it's not necessary."

"Wait…you mean, our first mission to America _isn't_ helping the 'Ghostbusters' out with their work?" Kazushi asked, causing Mitsuru to slap her forehead.

"No you nitwit! The Ghostbusters are fictitious! I need this done and I need it done now! And I'm not about to send an experienced member of S.E.E.S. over there when we can just send you three and have this as your training graduation mission!"

"Wait – so why can't you send Minato or Akihiko again?" Kenji asked, forcing Mitsuru to raise her fist just to see Kenji cower behind his arms as he shielded his face.

"Listen, damn it! I'm in no mood to repeat myself! Get to the airport on time, get on the plane, and get to America! You'll be sent instructions from there. Don't worry, Chairman Tanaka is on the ground in Florida as we speak just to make sure nothing goes wrong – although knowing that bastard he's probably picking some scantily-clad American women off of the beac-"

"Yes ma'am! We'll do as we're told!" Kenji and Kazushi instantly grinned and saluted their superior, while Hidetoshi simply hung his head.

"Hidetoshi, you'll be squad leader for this operation…and if you guys screw this up, maybe I'll just let the Americans take care of you. Now get out of here!" she shouted, causing people in the chapel next door to turn around in their seats and glance through the glass door. Supposedly, it was soundproof. Supposedly.

"So, you think they'll be fine with Mitsuru the Fire Dragon out there? No offense, Akihiko!" Junpei asked, holding Chidori in his arms while they both stared at Mitsuru. Aigis had taken the liberty of preparing an evacuation procedure in case Mitsuru decided to re-enter the room.

"None taken Junpei…none taken," Akihiko said, slightly cringing in pain at the thought of what tonight would bring.

"Dude, your life sucks," Shinjiro said, his arm wrapped around Fuuka. Minato nodded his head, one hand around Yukari and another on his evoker.

"Yeah, well…that's that. Oh well, Junpei, at least I'm still single!" Akihiko tried to make a positive joke about the situation, before Mitsuru shouted through the glass once again.

"I heard that Akihiko Sanada! Your ass is mine! Forever!" she shouted, storming off down the recreational corridor with at least three cigarettes in her mouth, judging from the amount of smoke that she left as she walked away.

"God damn it." Akihiko muttered, forcing Minato and Shinjiro to point and laugh at Akihiko, before Junpei completely hid behind Chidori.

"Be careful, Akihiko…" Fuuka said, before Aigis appeared from below the pulpit, her albieros reattached to her hands.

"I am ready for any threat now!" Aigis announced, prompting several of the S.E.E.S. members in the isles to duck for cover behind the chairs in front of them.

"Aigis – I…don't think that will be…ahem, you know, necessary…" Yukari said, slowly standing up and putting her hands in front of her in a defensive position.

"Oh…well then – that's splendid! I read an article on human etiquette upon the hearing of good news. Some cultures engage in 'celebratory gunfire', I shall partake in this human activity in order to adequately express the occasion!" Aigis said, pointing her albieros towards the infinite expanse of ceiling above them and firing towards it, causing several of the members inside to run out into the hallway in panic, but leaving the veteran members in the front row to simply sigh and bow their heads that it wasn't something worse that Aigis had read on the internet.

At least Junpei and Chidori would have a wedding they would remember.


	3. Third Story

Shin Megami Tensei

Persona 3: Carpe Diem

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Persona 3, SMT, or any characters within. They belong to Atlus.

Author's Note: In case you haven't been paying attention, I'm planning on writing a sequel to RES. Don't worry, this isn't it, this is just to give you a sense of closure after the epilogue in RES. The _true_ sequel shall be revealed soon enough.

**Third Story – Tell Me Your Story**

APRIL 13, 2011

"_Really_, now…so, let me get this straight, you've been fighting the shadows for about two and a half years now as an organization devoted to eliminating them from the world?" Takeba's father asked, honestly puzzled by the armband and gun he was just presented.

"Well, that's _one_ part of the story. But I'd really like for you to spend some time with my boyfriend, Minato. He's actually one of the reasons I'm alive – or any of us are alive today," Yukari said, feeling slightly embarrassed for some unknown reason.

The two were sitting inside the main cafeteria hall of S.E.E.S. headquarters. Mr. Takeba had a can of Mad Bull and Yukari held a beer.

It had been too long.

"I still can't believe this is how you'd end up, or how'd you grow up, for that matter! Geez, have you grown since I last saw you!" Mr. Takeba said as if it were a surprise. In all seriousness, however, in the last week that he had been with his daughter, it was as if this were a whole new world. A whole new daughter, even!

"Well, you were gone for eleven years…but now you're back! And that's all that matters now, dad."

Yukari smiled for her father once more before excusing herself to use the restroom, allowing Mr. Takeba to take a look around him at his daughter's workplace. Most men would want to see their daughter well off: married by twenty-five, job with the government, and a house in the "suburbs" of Tokyo.

What he saw was an eighteen year old girl who he barely recognized, working a few miles underground with an organization so secret that it put even national spy agencies to shame.

Looking at the time, it was just a few minutes past seven. There would still be daylight outside, if he even knew where it was anymore. Nothing was as it seemed anymore. It took the worst in him – the beast that lay at the very bottom of his soul, to find his daughter, and now that he had found 

her…it seemed as if everything had been his fault. Maybe if he hadn't tried to play God, Yukari could live a normal life…

Maybe.

"Sorry I took so long," Yukari said as she sat down at the table, picking up her beer.

"Things should be the other way around, at least, that's how they were back then," he said, staring at his can of Mad Bull, trying to listen in on the various conversations around him.

"_So, did you hear that the Fuuka managed to get the L.O.S.T. to disband themselves?"_

"_Hey, about that Swallows and Giants game..."_

"_Fuck off, Kenji!"_

Everything was so different. Eleven years ago, he could imagine himself sitting Yukari was sitting. The "cool" one. The father that everyone liked. Back when he had a life, back when he had _his_ life.

"Yukari, does it bother you that I'm back?" he asked. Yukari blinked at this seemingly random question, not only because of its peculiarity but also because she thought her father would know the answer to that question.

"Dad…ever since that day eleven years ago there's been nothing more I've wanted than to see you again. To know that you were still alive somewhere…you have no idea how hurt I was when I discovered two years ago that that possibility might not only be impossible – but that you were behind the Incident. You weren't, of course…that was just a trick Ikutsuki played on us…"

"Ikutsuki? Shuji Ikutsuki? How is he? I haven't-"

"He's dead," Yukari said flatly. She didn't spare any sympathy for the man, not even for her father. It was understandable, given her position.

"Oh…that's a shame."

"_Attention all S.E.E.S. employees. There is a deployment conference being held in the Level A-17 Meeting Hall occurring at 19:30. Attendance is mandatory. For security reasons, all non-S.E.E.S. personnel are to remain in their assigned rooms until further notice."_ A voice announced from the loudspeaker system, to the great dismay of everyone else in the cafeteria.

"_Man, this crap _again_. I'm still probably going to be assigned a training mission."_

"_Yeah! Me too. When can I do something cool? Like what Yukari-san does!"_

Yukari recognized those voices: they were some of her friends from the archery club and apparently, Mitsuru wasn't taking a liking to them in terms of deployment.

"Looks like you're still a popular kid," Yukari's father said, putting his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands. "I guess you have to go do your job now, huh?"

"Sorry, dad…yeah. Mitsuru said that the original members of S.E.E.S. would be seeing the most deployments. I wasn't sent away at the first meeting so I'm guaranteed a deployment this time…tell you what, though. I'll catch up with you after I get back and we'll have a beer together along with Minato! How's that sound?"

Yukari's father grumbled a bit at having to see his daughter leave, but answered her as any man should, "Yeah, that'd be great. Although personally I'd rather have you drinking cielo mist and have this 'Minato' kid stay away from you until the wedding, but…"

Yukari simply rolled her eyes before standing up from her seat. "Dad, I'm a grown woman now, so don't worry about me."

"That's exactly what I'm worried about," Yukari's father said, collecting the trash from their table in his arms.

Yukari sighed, glancing at the elevator that would take her to the meeting hall.

"Well, you _do_ remember where you room is, right?" she asked, hoping to get on the elevator before it departed.

"Yeah, it's on…erm…Dorm Level…eight? Is that it?"

"Bingo, that's the one! I've gotta' catch that elevator. See you later, dad, love you, bye!" Yukari shouted as she began sprinting towards the elevator, shouting at the people inside to hold the door. Mr. Takeba looked at his daughter run towards the elevator. It brought back memories of her running around in a playground when she was little, all those years ago. All those memories that she had lived, he would never experience.

As Yukari made in through the elevator doors, slowly fading away as they close, Mr. Takeba waved his daughter goodbye before heading over to the recycling bin to throw away their bottles. A S.E.E.S. civic android greeted him from behind a polished silver counter.

"_Greetings, sir. Is there anything I can help you with?"_ the android asked. Its face was just like a human's, if only it didn't have blood red eyes. It was a 'female' android, evidenced by the crest in its breast region alongside with its long, black hair and sweet voice.

"No. It's fine, thank you," Mr. Takeba said to the android, turning away and proceeding down the corridor that would take him to the elevator to his dorm.

"_Have a good day, sir!"_ the android said to him, getting back to work soon after that.

The S.E.E.S. headquarters was buried several hundred meters below the surface of Yakushima. The relatively small area of the complex was solved by the sheer depth of it all. Every level of 

the headquarters was buried even further than the last level, requiring a massive series of elevators to adequately service the whole of the complex.

Unfortunately, because the UN had frozen the S.E.E.S. Treasury Fund, S.E.E.S. had no money in which to maintain these elevators, so at any given time there were only a few dozen operating within the complex.

And, as Mr. Takeba's fate would have it, the express elevator to the level eight dorms was malfunctioning today.

"Oh, you've gotta' be kidding me! Now I have to walk there!" Mr. Takeba shouted, punching the keypad for the elevator with mighty force but retracting his hand in pain just a few moments later, causing the civic android in the cafeteria to glance over in his direction.

"God…bloody…dammit," Mr. Takeba muttered, heading over to the emergency stairs in order to head back to his room. Just as he put his hand on the handle, though, a boy burst through the door with such force as to ram him to the floor as well as trip down onto the floor himself.

"Shit! I can't afford to be late! Not again!" the boy shouted, quickly picking himself up.

"Ow…my fucking skull…" Mr. Takeba said, forcing the boy to look over at him.

"Oh my – Aw, geez. I'm sorry Takeba-san! Here, let me help you up, the boy said, offering his hand out to Mr. Takeba on the floor. He took it, looking up at the boy's face and quickly realizing it was that boy in the restaurant that kissed his daughter last week!

"So…you're, uh…Minato? Is it?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah, sorry about that," Minato said, pointing at the door.

"Oh, it's no problem. I realize you kids are in a hurry. Yukari herself was in quite a rush just a few minutes ago…so, you're her…uh, boyfriend?" he asked. For some reason, it was slightly awkward for the two of them to be speaking like this. Minato had only seen her father a few times since Hagakure, and on all occasions she was with him. They had never spoken alone before.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I guess I am," Minato replied, hesitant to engage in conversation for fear of being late.

"You guess you are?" Takeba asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"I mean I am. I am her boyfriend."

"You sound as if you need more convincing than I do. Anyway, seeing as you just hit me over the head with a steel door, maybe we should take the time to converse. You know, get to know each other better."

"Oh, well – I need to-" Minato tried to walk around Mr. Takeba, but he would have none of it, instead forcing his arm out to block Minato.

"Hey, uh, android…lady…thing?"

"_Yes sir? How may I be of service?"_ the android answered, quickly dropping its current work for the needs of its masters.

"Two beers, please. We'll be here a while."

"Oh, no, Mr. Takeba, I _really_ have to get going-"

"Nonsense, my boy! Android?"

"_Yes sir, your alcoholic beverages are on the way!"_

"Splendid! Come on, my boy, we have a lot to talk about. Tell me _your_ story, now," Mr. Takeba said, putting an arm around Minato and bringing him over to the table where he and Yukari had sat just a few minutes prior.


	4. Fourth Story

Shin Megami Tensei

Persona 3: Carpe Diem

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Persona 3, SMT, or any characters within. They belong to Atlus..

**Fourth Story – Good Morning, America!**

NOVEMBER 12, 2011

AMERICAN AIRSPACE OVER FLORIDA

_I am a spy. I am a _super_ spy. I am on a super, top-secret, ultra-important mission that will decide the fate of the world. Failure is not an option. Me and my crack team of specialists will infiltrate hostile territory via aerial insertion and rendezvous with a local contact. He'll give us what we need to save the-_

"God damn it, Kenji! It's bad enough that I have to sit next to you on this flight and it's even worse that you keep muttering to yourself writing in that damn diary of yours!" Hidetoshi said in a low tone, but still kept the disdain in his voice.

"Okay, first off, it's a journal, not a diary. Second off, don't you think this is pretty damn _awesome_! Going to America to fight the forces of evil and save the world!?" Kenji said, the biggest smile on his face.

"Yeah, sure, journal, diary, same thing. And you're blowing this _way_ out of proportion. We've been simply asked to head over to Florida and _diplomatically_ rectify the situation with the Americans."

"But that's just it!" Kenji added, "We don't know _what_ we're supposed to be correcting or why! Mitsuru asked us to plant something on their space shuttle and kidnap some old guy! Don't you think that's suspicious in the slightest!?"

"I do, Kenji. I do, but it's not our place to question her orders. You heard what happened to that kid Bebe, right?" Hidetoshi asked, his face cringing in pain as she shook the memory from his head.

"Dude…don't…don't play around like that, man. That was _scary_," Kenji said.

Kazushi would've added more to the conversation, as he was there when Bebe crossed Mitsuru. Alas, he was fast asleep, drooling on the pillow provided by the airline.

"_Please fasten your seatbelts and return all trays and seats to their upright positions. The plane is preparing to land at: Miami International Airport._

_Thank you for flying All Nippon Airways!"_

"So, America! Who's psyched? I am!" Kenji whispered to Hidetoshi, forcing him to pull out his PDA.

"By the way, Kenji, Mitsuru gave me this little gadget for my role in this mission," he said, pointing to the pure crimson casing of the PDA alone with a single silver stripe running along its back. Within the stripe, emblazoned in red lettering was the S.E.E.S. emblem.

"W – why the hell would she give that to you!?" he asked, surprised. The way S.E.E.S. worked, the higher your rank, the more gadgets you were generally equipped with. S.E.E.S. officers, currently only the original members of S.E.E.S., carried evokers.

"Mitsuru says that if we complete this assignment, we'll all get special persona invocation training. Now, we won't be able to get that training if you keep shooting your mouth off, so quiet down damn it," he said, obviously annoyed, even if the expression on his face didn't say so.

"No, you shut up, man. This is awesome and you know it and – oh, man…I never really liked the landings," Kenji said, bracing himself as if he expected the plane to slam into the ground.

The wheels of the plane hit the ground with enough force to make Kenji traumatized for life, with Hidetoshi simply shrugging the force of the landing off. Kazushi was violently woken up when his pillow hit the floor and his head slammed into the window.

"Shit! Ow! My head!" Kazushi shouted. Not really shouted, but said loudly enough for heads to turn in their direction from several of the aisles around them. "Sorry." He said, apologizing to those that had turned around while gripping his head in between his hands.

"So Kaz, finally awake?" Kenji asked, breathing a sigh of relief as the plane began to decelerate to taxi to their terminal. Supposedly someone from S.E.E.S. was waiting for them. Supposedly.

"Yeah, had my head bashed into a damn window – augh, damn that hurt!" he said, still gripping the side of his head that had smashed into the window.

"Well guys, here's to a successful mission in America!" Kenji said, raising his journal in the air slightly in between the three of them.

"Seriously, Kenji, stop before I burn that thing," Hidetoshi said, glancing out the window the see a massive airport set against a glorious blue sky.

TERMINAL B

MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

"Where the _hell_ are these guys?" Tanaka said, glancing at his gold watch. He witnessed their plane arrive on time from the highway and had seen it dock with the terminal already. He had seen other passengers get off the plane with smiling faces and hands filled with luggage.

He did not see the three boys he was to pick up.

Mitsuru was lucky she even got Tanaka to do this favor for her. If it hadn't been for that contract Junpei had signed earlier in the year…

"There you guys are! Where the hell have you been? Come on, let's go, the limo's waiting outside," Tanaka said, quickly turning around as he saw the boys exit from the baggage claim area. He was eager to get back into the limo, where the finer pleasures in life awaited him: women, liquor, and sweet Cuban cigars, with none of the damn restrictions that the airport placed upon you while you were inside it.

The boys, fresh of the plane but eager to start their mission, smiled at the prospect of travelling across American beaches in a limousine – even Hidetoshi was grinning, albeit not a widely as Kazushi and Kenji, who fist bumped and ran towards the exit, following Chairman Tanaka as he opened the rear door to his limo, Kazushi and Kenji instantly leapt inside with their small luggage, leaving behind an apologetic Hidetoshi to stare at Tanaka from the sidewalk.

"Sorry about them," Hidetoshi said.

"No problem, kid. Of course I only say that because you look…oddly like myself when I was your age. Now get in the car, we have business to discuss." Hidetoshi complied, obviously eager to carry on with his mission but in a more professional fashion than his two idiotic counterparts. Why they took this job was clear as day. How they managed to stay official members of S.E.E.S. for more than a few days was a mystery.

Inside the limo were suede seats and a refrigerator that was currently being raided by Kenji. A beautiful blond woman sat at the far end of the limo's opposite seat. She wore a black skirt with a white blouse, unbuttoned up to the point where Hidetoshi could see her cleavage. He didn't want to think what Tanaka was doing in this limo before he picked them up

"Hello," she said in a thick Eastern European accent, forcing him to reply in earnest by waving his hand at her, before sitting down in between Kenji and Kazushi to make room for Tanaka, who just got in the car himself and closed the door behind him, instantly setting himself down in the seat and pulling a pack of cigars from a hidden compartment underneath his seat.

"Any of you guys want some?" he asked, a cigar already in his mouth. They unanimously turned down the offer as he pulled a lighter from his breast pocket, lit up the cigar, and put his arm around the mysterious woman.

"Listen boys, Mitsuru called me up last week and had be head down to Cuba to gather information on this mission, and by God is it important! I've invested over forty million yen into S.E.E.S. so far and I don't want it going to waste! Needless to say, Mitsuru doesn't want S.E.E.S. to fail either, so –"

"Um…just one thing…who are you? I've seen you somewhere before but-" Kenji tried to finish his sentence, but Tanaka interrupted him and pulled the cigar out of his mouth to talk faster.

"Listen kid, don't interrupt me again. I'm a friend of S.E.E.S. and that's all you low level punks will get to learn for today. Hey, driver! Come on, this isn't Shinjuku! Step on it!"

"_You got it."_

The limo began to accelerate towards the highway a little faster than the legal speed limit, allow Tanaka to get even more comfortable.

"Okay. As I understand it, this will be your graduation mission from training. Congratulations, but I don't really care. All I care about is having my investment turned into gold and that's not going to happen unless you succeed."

"Um, sir? Just what exactly _is_ out mission?" Kazushi asked, prompting Tanaka to lean back into his seat and look at the three of them in amazement.

"You mean you don't know? They didn't brief you in Yakushima before you left?" he asked. The word 'confusion' clearly written on his face.

"No, sir. Mitsuru just told us a flight number and to get on it. She said-" again, Kenji was interrupted by someone. This time it was a "ding" sound made from Hidetoshi's PDA. He pulled the crimson and silver device from his pocket, before Tanaka simply put the cigar back in his mouth and let the PDA do the talking for him.

_FROM: S.E.E.S. HQ – YAKUSHIMA_

_TO: FLORIDA SQUAD_

_SUBJECT: BRIEFING_

_I'll try to make this as brief and as clear as possible. A man is going to pick you up at the airport. You'll know him only as "The Chairman". He will drive you to your mission target and provide you with the equipment needed for this mission._

_You are to get to a discrete location within three kilometers distance of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Americans are launching a resupply mission to the International Space Station today. You will use the equipment provided to attach a broadcasting beacon onto the shuttle and allow it to head into space. If the mission is successful, S.E.E.S. will be able to control the actions of all non-ParaPol citizens within the United States once the ISS aligns within the center of the country._

_The device will disintegrate in the atmosphere once the shuttle makes its re-entry, so don't let any moral objections stand in your way. Our control over the Americans is only a short one and is necessary for the continued survival of S.E.E.S._

_Enclosed, I have provided an enhanced image of the man I want you to kidnap. As I have stated, it is not necessary for you to capture him, but it would be helpful if you do. He is the Grand Mason of the American Order of Freemasons. Our counterparts in the U.S. "Persuading" him to take S.E.E.S. seriously will greatly aid us in our endeavors._

_I hope you will not fail. Our goal to eliminate paranormal evil in this world is just. We can't allow the world to believe that we are evil ourselves._

_Signed,_

_Mitsuru Kirijo_

_Adjutant Commander of S.E.E.S._

_P.S. This was broadcast from a psychic-encrypted channel, however, I have no doubts the Americans will pick up our mentioning of S.E.E.S. within the next few hours. If your mission does not succeed, there is no doubt they will never allow you to leave their country again, so do not fail._

"Are you meaning to tell me-" Hidetoshi was trying to formulate his own hypothesis behind the mission, before Tanaka burst in.

"That's right. Mass mind control. Courtesy of the three beautiful S.E.E.S. psychics. Don't worry, it will only be temporary, and the three girls will all be physically handicapped while they're in their psychic state. Needless to say, there _are_ no moral hiding spots in this mission. After it's over, life can return to normal, and you can all go home."


	5. Fifth Story

Shin Megami Tensei

Persona 3: Carpe Diem

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Persona 3, SMT, or any characters within. They belong to Atlus.

**Fifth Story – Thrown into Hell's Fire**

In the beginning, there was nothing.

At least, that's how humanity would believe the story of Creation.

In the beginning, there existed the Three Fates – who individually know not the reason for their existence or their powers. After countless millennia of existential thought, the Three Fates created God.

Yearning purpose, God in turn created the modern Realms. Hell: the institution to safeguard the nascent evil of the universe. The Heavens: the institution to safeguard the nascent good of the universe. Purgatory: the modern realm in which the Fates dwell, a prison of the Creators. The Human realm: the institution in which the Seven Powers of the Fates were entrusted to. And finally, the Dark Realm: a barrier which prevents transition between realm through the incredible exertion of spiritual energy.

But if one can harness the power of the Dark Realm – then inter-dimensional travel becomes possible. Such is the descent into Hell to those who rebel against the natural order…

"No! No! No – augh!"

A black figure could be seen screaming in a massive pool of lava, slowly disappearing below its surface. Next to the bubbling mass of magma, standing on the edge of the pool, dressed in a blood red bathrobe stood a vaguely human figure. If only its skin and eyes weren't red from burst blood vessels and it didn't have a black horn sticking out of the right side of its head.

"You have failed me, Ninurta…and _you_! You!" the figure pointed at a black skeleton, enchained on a wall covered in blood and soot. Faint screams could be heard outside the large steel door which shielded them from the outside world.

This room. In this horrible citadel of pain, the skeleton struggled to break free of its bonds, before the demon before it took small baby steps towards it until it was right in front of the skeleton's eyes.

"You have rebelled against the natural order of this world. You have rebelled against _me_! And to top it all off, you have failed to unify even _two_ of the seven powers of the Fates! Tell me why I shouldn't kill you like your brother Ninurta!" the demon shouted, throwing his fists in the air. His punches were so strong they managed to leave a small crater on the rocks above them.

"_I…have not failed you…nor have I forsaken you-"_

"In the kind words of humanity: that's bullshit!" the demon shouted again, bearing his fist down upon the skeleton, forcing it to yell in pain.

"_I – I – I am a horseman!"_

"A Horseman you are…and a bad one at that. Tell me, what has become of the Horseman of War during your rebellion? The Horseman of Conquest and of Famine? Do you know what they have done in your absence?" the demon asked, coming an inch closer to the skeleton's 'face' before cringing at the sight of it.

"_No. What has become of my brethren?"_

"I know that their recent loss of spiritual energy was not natural in nature. No. Only a severe imbalance in the Holy Balance can do such a thing…I know you stole their spiritual energy to make way for your rebellion! I know!" the demon cried out, punching the air and sighing deeply into the heavy atmosphere.

"Due to your…insurrection, the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse have little to no spiritual energy left at their disposal. The only reason you and Ninurta are still alive, I'm guessing, is that you stole enough spiritual energy to keep your souls alive even in physical death…"

"_I do not deny these claims, Lucifer. What is it that-"_

"I don't want anything from you damn it!" Lucifer shouted, bringing his fist down upon the skeleton's rib cage. "No…because of you, I have to deal with a severe blow to the nascent evil of the universe. Because of _you_, I have to deal with-"

"_They have it…the humans. They possess the Eighth Power – Per – Per…"_

Lucifer looked over at the chained skeleton with awe, slowly folding his arms before opening his mouth to speak. "You don't mean-"

"_I was defeated by mortals. Mortals with the power of the Persona. And it seems that other factions – factions sympathetic to my cause – also had the Eighth Power."_

"The…eighth…no. You're lying. The Eighth Power of the Persona is just a myth. Even _I _cannot transcend the boundary between dimensions to –"

"_Well then, Lucifer; how is it then that theirs was not an isolated incident. There were _at least_ ten persona wielders in a single human city. Ten individuals who possess the power to transcend space and time to harness spiritual energy. How long do you think it will be before the humans subjugate Hell itself? How long before Heaven falls? Before all of this universe is liberated and has no more need for our existence."_

"Quiet, Horseman! Do not forget that you are my prisoner!" Lucifer shouted, turning his back to the skeleton and placing his hand on his chin.

Ten persona wielders…this was troublesome indeed.

The Fates entrusted God with seven natural powers. The powers of: Mercy, Strength, Justice, Knowledge, Prosperity, Faith, and Free Will. God in turn entrusted these powers upon Man, and divided their effect upon the whole of the human race.

But there was one power that God added, unknown to the Fates at the time. The Power of the Persona – the power to transcend the five dimensions to drain and use spiritual energy into an effective, visible tool. A tool which, in essence, gives the user complete domination over another one of the seven powers.

Thus, to be able to wield a persona not only gives the wielder a considerable advantage in terms of spirit energy absorption, but also allows them complete mastery over one of the Seven Powers of God. Even if they didn't know it yet, S.E.E.S. was a threat to Hell itself. A threat to the natural order of this Universe: the order that the Light shall burn through the Darkness – but in doing so will create new shadows from which evil shall arise.

"Is there proof?" Lucifer asked, eventually turning around to face the skeleton once again.

"_Oh yes…there's proof alright. The proof is all over that stone prison you entombed me in for eight centuries! Spiritual residue, human 'DNA', it's all there –"_

"And your demands?' Lucifer asked, looking down on the skeleton with a newfound respect – albeit a bitter one.

"_Your Throne,"_ the skeleton said, grinning wildly and hoping that Lucifer could catch his emotions through his bones.

Not quite so. Lucifer left that chamber. He left it, storming out without even speaking a word to the skeleton in return, but that was quite alright with the both of them.

For Lucifer, all he had to do was wait until these persona wielders died. A mere fifty or so years in the human timeframe – a small fraction of how long he had been alive. Once they were gone, Evil could once again tread across the human realm unfettered and undeterred.

For the Reaper however, chained in one of Lucifer's execution cells, all he had to do was laugh and smile. Whether they knew it or not, the humans would hand him his rightful place on the Throne of Hades: one of the Five Thrones in which one could decide the fate of the universe.

And as the screams continued throughout Hell, as Lucifer walked to his Throne amidst a sea of misery and suffering, there was a distinct and disturbing laughter that began to fill the air, until all of Hell was caught up in it…


	6. Sixth Story

Shin Megami Tensei

Persona 3: Carpe Diem

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Persona 3, SMT, or any characters within. They belong to Atlus.

**Sixth Story – The Future is Now**

DECEMBER 24, 2015

S.E.E.S. RESEARCH CENTER (TEMPORARY) – YAKUSHIMA H.Q.

"Helium…Neon…Argon and Krypton…Xenon…Radon…Gallium and Cadmium…"

The tune was light and cheerful, its only lyrics were whatever scientific terms Aigis could put into its rhythm. Today's theme was chemistry, seeing as Aigis _was_ working with some new chemicals today. Even though she was a robot, she still dressed in a white lab coat and gloves to protect herself from the nature of these new chemicals.

She was working on a new type of Persona invocation: chemical induction, rather than the tried and true method of psychological trauma.

"Hydrogen…Lithium…Sodium and Calcium! Oh, this is interesting!" Aigis said to herself. She was happier than usual today – more spring in her step. Maybe it was because it was nearly Christmas and she couldn't wait to see her friends happy again. Or maybe it was because she couldn't wait for someone else to make her happy?

Regardless, she kept on humming that happy tune to herself in her small, private lab in the research wing of S.E.E.S. headquarters. Relatively speaking, the room was quite large, in fact, she was quite sure that this single room would've taken up an entire floor of the S.E.E.S. dorm back in Iwatodai.

However, fill that room up with storage containers, electrical generators, and scientific equipment, and it gets small really fast. Aigis even had a kitchen installed so she could teach herself cooking – much to the chagrin of Fuuka.

Aigis looked over at the clock on her wall. It said the time was 18:30 exactly. It would almost be time for her to conclude her research for the day so that she could join the others in the cafeteria. Apparently, after a long mission on the mainland, Minato was coming back tonight, and she didn't want to be late for _that_ ceremony.

But it was strange, thinking about him. To think about the fact that only a mere six years ago, Aigis was infatuated with Minato, constantly bickering with Yukari over who would be a better match for him.

Of course, now, six years after the fact, Yukari is the loyal woman Minato comes home to every time he's deployed.

And Aigis? She still maintains a relationship with Minato, although, as a friend and a mission advisor. But, if Aigis did have one thing, it was-

"Hello, Aigis!" a voice said, bursting through the door to her lab without regard for her privacy or for the delicate nature of the equipment around her. Aigis turned around quickly, bearing her albieros towards the man she only knew so well by now, but still managed to annoy her at times.

"Step away from the graviton machine, Ryoji. Now." She said, aiming her albieros at various non-vital parts of his body.

"Whoa, Aigis, relax!" Ryoji said, stepping closer to Aigis and grasping one of her hands so that he could twist himself around towards her computer and her research.

"Hey, what's this?" Ryoji asked, pointing to an extremely expensive looking machine.

"Get away from there!" Aigis said, putting away her albieros and walking towards Ryoji so that she could yank him away from her delicate (and expensive) research equipment. She almost did it, too. She had Ryoji by the collar before he twisted her arm so that she let go of him and simultaneously falling to the ground so that Ryoji could catch her with both of his hands preventing her from falling down on her equipment.

"Ryoji." She deadpanned, the lack of emotion in her voice telling Ryoji that she'd rather be concentrating on her work right now rather than hang around him.

"Aw, come on, Ai-chan; Minato's coming back from his deployment and, besides, it's Christmas! Take a break, it won't kill ya'," Ryoji said, more energy in his voice than usual.

"Just, come on, Aigis. Please?"

"Ryoji, I have to work. I'm sorry," Aigis said, working her way out of Ryoji's arms and trying to walk around him. Ryoji in turn, put his head down into his scarf and made one of his 'hurt' faces. Aigis may have been a robot, but even she relented at this slightly amusing, slightly pathetic performance put up by Ryoji.

"Okay, what do you want?" Aigis asked, folding her arms and looking Ryoji square in the eye. Ryoji instantly clapped his arms in glee, removing chin from his scarf and taking Aigis by the hand and dragging her out of her office.

"Ryoji, what-"

"It's in Memorial Hall, Aigis, come on!" Ryoji said, running out the door and almost hitting a civic android on the way out.

"Sorry!" Ryoji shouted as he held Aigis's hand, running down the hallway whilst dodging the various civil research androids that belonged to S.E.E.S., gaining strange looks from the occasional human that they happened to pass.

As the two of them ran into an empty express elevator, Aigis broke free from Ryoji's grip just as the gate began to close and the elevator began to rise.

"Ryoji, just what is this about!?" Aigis asked loudly, clearly annoyed. This reminded her of her early days. The days when she would enjoy skimping on her work to hang around with Ryoji and do nothing but enjoy the warmth of the sun and the beauty of the clear skies of Yakushima.

That was until Nozomi Suemitsu was killed in a failed persona invocation last year. Ever since then, Aigis shut herself out from the world, slowly become more and more isolated until the only people she saw were her old friends from the dorm – and even then, most of them were deployed around the world at any given time. Ryoji was all she had left. The one constant in her life.

But then, when her entire life had been an inconsistent journey, the consistency of Ryoji's presence made Aigis feel uneasy. He was the only one she could trust to always be there for her…but then again, maybe not.

After Nozomi's death, Aigis had to look long and hard at herself. She had to look deep inside herself to find her Humanity. To find who she really was.

What she found was a Harbinger of Change, not quite unlike the Harbinger of Death – always bringing a specter of unease and conflict to the world. That was why she hid away in her lab. That was why she devoted herself to her work. Maybe if she stopped trying to interact with the world, it wouldn't change. Maybe…

"Aigis?" Ryoji asked, concern in his voice. She had shouted at him when they got on the elevator, but had merely stared at her hands once they had gotten on.

"Huh? Yeah, Ryoji?" Aigis asked, completely unaware of the anger that had consumed her before this moment. Ryoji was confused for a few moments, but was otherwise perfectly content with the situation and fretful about the coming situation. For the rest of the elevator ride, the two of them said nothing to each other until the express elevator stopped on the second floor of the complex, in sector M.

"_And now, it is my pleasure to welcome Minato Arisato back to S.E.E.S. headquarters, Yakushima and congratulate him on his successful mission of seizing ancient Teutonic texts relating to the power of the Persona for S.E.E.S. For this brave action, along with your previous deeds in the major campaigns prior, I, Mitsuru Kirijo, Adjutant Commander of S.E.E.S., hereby bestow upon you the Order of the Personae, the highest award this organization has to offer…"_

Clapping could be heard from within Memorial Hall as the two of them exited the elevator just a few meters from the main doors. Two S.E.E.S. security guards, dressed in full S.E.E.S. combat garb – silver pants alongside a crimson jacket and beret – were equipped with evokers. As soon as Ryoji and Aigis stepped out of the elevator, one of the guards saluted towards them.

"Sir! Ma'am! We've been waiting for you! Please enter the hall when you're ready!"

"_And now, to award another hard working member of the S.E.E.S. community. A woman who has worked her entire life for the betterment of Mankind. For the Good of us all…Ryoji, could you please bring Aigis into the auditorium now?"_

Ryoji smiled, putting his arm around Aigis's shoulder and escorted a stunned Aigis towards the main doors of the hall. The two security guards opened the mahogany doors to the auditorium, revealing a massive room lit up by several high-powered searchlights. In the middle of the hemicycle was a large, square stage, with all of her old friends from the dorm standing on it. Mitsuru, upon seeing Aigis, brought the microphone in her hand to her mouth.

"_Aigis was born a machine. Body, mind, and soul. Her purpose was to defeat shadows and nothing else. But as time went by, as she observed the world around her, she realized that up until that point in her life where she became aware of her emotions – she had no purpose. Life is all about creating a purpose for oneself, and in this, Aigis managed to transcend the roots of her mechanical birth to become a member of Mankind: a being with the special gift of being able to choose one's own destiny. Since then, she has worked tirelessly to provide for the common good of the citizens of the world. And in that respect, we must bestow the Honorable Service Medallion to you, Aigis. Please, come up here…"_

Ryoji took his hand from Aigis's shoulder and took a step to the side, before Aigis grasped his arm and brought him to face her.

"Ryoji, I…thank you," she said, some water in her eyes from the clapping that was occurring around her. _For_ her.

It was in this same auditorium that Nozomi Suemitsu was honored in his death. Aigis didn't attend the ceremony. She couldn't bear the shame or the torment of having to confront her actions. She was sure that most of S.E.E.S. would bear a grudge against her.

But not so. As the thousands of S.E.E.S. members who were assembled clapped their hands and hollered in support of Aigis, she understood that she was human in her own right now. She understood that her actions could not be changed – that she needed to take responsibility for them. And she also understood that underneath the veil of isolation she had been putting up, she was hiding her own emotions and shutting herself from the world once again.

But as Aigis walked down the large isle, lit via a searchlight in the endless expanse of ceiling, she could swear that she felt her humanity return and the regret subside. Yes.

Because as long as she lived. As long as _they_ lived, she wouldn't let them die. She swore to Nozomi that she would accomplish this. As Mitsuru held out her hand to shake Aigis's and place the medallion over Aigis's neck, she could swear she saw Nozomi's ghost smiling down upon her from the Heavens, is face emblazoned in the light like some kind of odd manifestation of her will.

Now she understood his death. Now she understood that she couldn't hide from the guilt any longer, and that she would just have to live and continue on living. For her friends…for herself, she would not fail.


	7. Seventh Story

Shin Megami Tensei

Persona 3: Carpe Diem

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Persona 3, SMT, or any characters within. They belong to Atlus.

**Seventh Story – Launch**

NOVEMBER 12, 2011

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLORIDA

"Just how illegal is this?" Hidetoshi asked Tanaka as they parked a few kilometers away from the Kennedy Center. They were off the main highway, in a small clearing that had a conspicuous view of the space center amongst the trees.

They all got out of the limo, but the mysterious blond woman remained. Tanaka popped open the trunk of the limo to reveal three giant suitcases.

"How illegal is it? Hm…that's hard to tell. You want me to ask an American police officer how illegal it is to use a rifle to _shoot_ the space shuttle so you can use it to control people's _minds_!?" Tanaka said, bitter sarcasm in his voice. He wasn't about to let this mission fail because of some kid's legal objections, let alone moral ones. If this mission failed, even _he_ would be ruined.

"Open them. Now." Tanaka said, pointing to the suitcases. Each was over a meter long, pure black in color, and had a discrete S.E.E.S. emblem etched into their surfaces.

Kazushi opened his suitcase first, peering inside just for a second before closing it back up again, glancing at Tanaka with a scared look on his face.

"Take the gun out, kid. You're not killing anyone with-"

"Cool! Oh, man, sweet!" Kenji said loudly after opening the suitcase to reveal a similar sniper rifle.

Tanaka slapped his head and walked over to Hidetoshi.

"Look, kid, it's obvious that your buddies here are too inept to hit the shuttle with this thing, but you've only got one shot. They're each loaded with only one transmitter, the fact being that if you miss, the shuttle will be going so fast that you won't get a second shot. You've got to shoot the transmitter onto the shuttle's upper side just as its taking off, so that American surveillance cameras focused on the shuttle won't pick it up."

"Firing it just as the shuttle begins to leave the ground?"

"Yes. As soon as you detect the _slightest_ movement, fire the damn thing. Aim for the nose of the shuttle, the transmitter should land on top of the cargo bay if you do."

"_Launch checks complete, beginning thruster burn."_ They could hear the Americans beginning their launch checks. Tanaka unfolded his arms and placed his hands on Hidetoshi's shoulders.

"I know you all believe in what S.E.E.S. stands for. I know you three don't want to idly sit back and watch the forces of evil destroy this world…but _I_ know that we can't help anybody if we're trapped in an American prison. Mitsuru's been negotiating with the President, but he says he can't listen to us. The usual 'no negotiating with terrorists', bullshit. So, in lieu of a negotiated peace, it'll just have to be a violent cease fire." Tanaka said these words in almost a low whisper, compounding the tension that they were all feeling up to this moment. Hidetoshi nodded, before wriggling out of Tanaka's grip and standing back a few feet to salute him.

"As long as we live-" Hidetoshi said.

"We serve. Take the shot when you're ready. All of you!" Tanaka said, completing the S.E.E.S. motto along with Hidetoshi. Following Kenji into a firing position just within the tree line, the three of them had a perfect shot at the space shuttle.

"_Initiating burn. Releasing locks and preparing for takeoff."_

From their perspective, they could see the shuttle perfectly. Three boys lying down in prone position with rifles capable of firing the three kilometers distance to the target.

"Kaz, firing!" Kazushi fired his shot at the shuttle, completely missing it. He had seen it bank to the left.

"Wind moving to the left, adjust scopes to twenty meters right! Kenji, firing!" Kenji had adjusted his position and his scope to fire the transmitter towards the shuttle just as the main thrusters began to burn and take the shuttle off the ground. Unfortunately, he was aiming for the cargo bay doors, and the transmitter he fired ended up bouncing off of the tail of the shuttle.

"Hidetoshi, firing!" Hidetoshi shouted, closing his eyes tight and pulling the trigger to the rifle, relying more on hope than skill to pull this off.

"Damn, man. Nice shot," Kenji said as Hidetoshi opened his eyes. Kazushi pointed at the shuttle and nudged his scope, prompting Hidetoshi to find the transmitter on the shuttle before it _really_ took off.

"Where is-"

And there it was. In the blink of an eye, he could see a small red device attached to rear thruster of the shuttle, just as the shuttle blasted off into the sky, slowly, but surely gaining the momentum it needed to break free of Earth's atmosphere.

"Good shot, kid," Tanaka said while the blond woman from the limo lit up a cigar for him. He had been observing their shots from some binoculars he had in the limo and had come out only after he had confirmed the successful attachment of a psychic beacon to the shuttle.

The five of them looked on at the white bird as it made its way up into the sky. Technology made for war was being used for peace…and technology made for peace was being used to manipulate the minds of millions.

"It…it _will_ burn up in the atmosphere, right? The Americans' free will will be returned after all of this is over, right?" Hidetoshi asked.

"Free will is a subjective term, kid, you shouldn't throw it around so easily. Are we really free? Or is that just an illusion that Fate has put up to us?" Tanaka said, looking up at the sky and exhaling a large amount of smoke.

"Regardless of whether or not we have control over our actions, one thing is clear: we live in this world and we're aware of the fact that our time is limited…so let's make the best of it," Tanaka said, putting the cigar back in his mouth and putting his hands in his pockets as if to reach for something.

"And what better way to exercise your individuality than to blindly follow the orders you were given," Tanaka said as he pulled out a S.E.E.S. PDA and opened the file containing the photo and personal information of the man they were to abduct.

"George Sears. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida, over a hundred kilometers from here. You're to abduct this man and force his hand as leader of the Free Masons to assist S.E.E.S. in an upcoming campaign."

"And what would that be?" Kenji asked, slightly excited from seeing their mission a success, slightly bored from the thought of having to do more work.

"You'll know soon enough, my boy." Tanaka said through the cigar, never taking his eyes off of the shuttle.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky, nothing but the rocket trail and the gleam of the shuttle as it worked its way through Earth's atmosphere to liberate itself from the bonds of its creation.


	8. Eighth Story

Shin Megami Tensei

Persona 3: Carpe Diem

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Persona 3, SMT, or any characters within. They belong to Atlus.

**Eighth Story - Good Morning, Philippines!**

SAN PEDRO, LAGUNA PROVINCE, PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 6, 2016

_"You think you can beat me...You and I both know that this is an impossibility...What I do know, is that you will die - here, now, and alone..."_

_"I don't think so..."_

_"Really, now?"_

Minato seemed to be standing on the roof of a building, a black sky overhead and a blood red moon on the horizon. He was facing some sort of being...a black figure, fully enclosed within his own world. He wore a cape and masked his face from Minato's eyes, and just as he slowly lowered his arms to reveal his face, he muttered one word:

_"Die!"_

"Augh!" Minato shouted, nearly jumping out of bed, gripping his head as hard as he could. The sunlight from the outside hit the security bars on his window, creating a sort of pinstripe pattern on his white T-shirt.

In the distance, he could hear a dog barking, followed by the beeping horns of early morning traffic. He could hear the schoolchildren beginning to pass by, distinguished by their light banter, and he could hear the various vendors on his street selling items to them.

"Hm? W - what's the matter, Minato-kun," Yukari mumbled. He turned around on the bed, finding her still half-asleep, but still awake enough to recognize the noises around her.

Still gripping his head, he relaxed a little and sat up on the side of the bed, facing the window that gave him a nice view onto a plaza not far away from their apartment.

"Nothing...just...just having that dream again..."

Rubbing the sand out of his eye, Minato walked over to the bathroom adjoining their bedroom and looked in the mirror. In the mirror, he saw a man. A man, who had too much stubble on his face and too long blue hair. A man who had seen too much in life. He didn't need to fight. Didn't _want_ to fight. But after the Lake of Fire incident, it became apparent to everyone that fighting was the only thing they knew.

He looked at the small medicine cabinet on the wall to his right. Normal people had cold medicine or bandages. They kept their evokers and regular guns, specially equipped with spirit-draining ammunition. And while he opened the medicine cabinet, reaching in to grab some shaving cream and a razor, he couldn't help but repeat his daily habit of looking at the two group photos of S.E.E.S. taped to the inside of the cabinet door.

The first photo was around the time of Shuji Ikutsuki's betrayal, showing Junpei's eccentric behavior and the chaos among them at the time.

The second group photo was held against a white backdrop, lighted perfectly, and nearly every one of Minato's friends in it. It was a photo of all of his former dorm mates plus schoolmates a few weeks after they had decided to expand S.E.E.S.

S.E.E.S.

An organization he loved, but as he continued to work there for the last five years, something struck him: continued membership in S.E.E.S. _would_ mean giving up your life. You couldn't go to university. You could not have children. You could marry outside of S.E.E.S., lest you compromise the organization's security. The whole point of S.E.E.S. was to create a secret organization that would surpass all other paranormal police organizations as the sole force of containing evil in the world. The only way to do that was to keep regular human (known as "reggies" by S.E.E.S.) knowledge of the organization down to total zero.

If Minato and Yukari wanted to continue going on with their lives, they would have to escape S.E.E.S. They would have to escape their past.

But as both of them quickly learned when they landed in Manila International Airport, one's past cannot be forgotten...nor can it be forgiven. Quickly, they ran out of money, and the only thing keeping them afloat in this country was to open their own paranormal police agency (outside of the watchful eye of the S.E.E.S. intelligence network)...

Picking up the razor after lathering his face, he slowly shaved his face until he began to recognize himself again. With the exception that his hair was still nearly touching his shoulders and covering his eyes, of course. He finished shaving and put the items back in the medicine cabinet, he felt something warm wrap around his stomach, before he looked up in the mirror.

"Yukari..." he said, grabbing her hands as she hugged him from behind, putting her head down on his shoulder. She was clothed in a large white T-shirt and her hair was also longer than it was supposed to be.

"You should cut your hair..." she said into his shoulder, still half-asleep.

"Heh, I know, I know," he said back, working his hands so he could wriggle out of her embrace to face her.

"Hey, you okay? That dream you were having..."

"It's nothing, Yukari. Don't worry about it," he said, stroking her hair before letting her go.

"Heh, if it gets any longer, people will start to think I'm a lesbian. Hurry up, I gotta' take a shower," she said, giving him a quick kiss on the lips before going over to the sink to wash her face.

He stood there for a few moments, looking at her, remarking to himself just how lucky he was to have her (and how lucky _they_ were to escape the S.E.E.S. network), before he left the bathroom as Yukari began to brush her teeth.

Looking out from that window that overlooked the plaza, he could see the high schoolers, lazily making their way to school. It reminded him of _his_ schooldays: walking to school with his dorm mates, sleepy and uninterested, waiting for their next battle in Tartarus.

Maybe this kids had something within them, too? Something that differentiated them from their peers. But then, as he heard the sound of the shower being turned on in the bathroom, it brought him back to reality. The reality that the line between this realm and the next was slowly disappearing. The reality that paranormal activity was spiking at an alarming rate...a rate which even had the Vatican concerned.

When they made their decision to disappear to the Philippines, they thought they could make a difference. They thought they could live their lives the way they wanted while still fulfilling their purpose.

But the stark reality hit Minato hard and fast: these kids had no hope, no future. The only thing keeping them from total annihilation were the ParaPols, and even then, Paranormal Police were woefully unprepared for the recent spike in paranormal activity. He looked towards the dresser and saw, amongst the various articles of clothing that had been thrown around the room, a bottle of rum and a pack of cigarettes.

It was strange. The same vices that plague the Reggie world were what kept the ParaPols going...what kept their psyche up amongst the absurdity of the world.

Minato walked over to the dresser to light one of Yukari's cigarettes, taking a long, deep breath before exhaling the smoke, nodding his head.

"Pretty good. I can't imagine why Fuuka didn't want Shinji to smoke the stuff..."

"You smoke?" Yukari asked, opening the bathroom door. Normally it took Yukari a full twenty minutes to take a shower, had he been sitting there thinking for that long?

"Now I do," Minato said, holding up the cigarette and nodding his head at her near-naked form, warpped in a towel.

"Nice. Now take a shower, we'll be late for our first patrol," Yukari said, walking over to the mirror to work on her hair.

Minato nodded his head, put out the cigarette in the ash tray on the table and walked to the bathroom to take a shower, opening the medicine cabinet so he could cut his hair using his combat knife.

Yukari sat there, thinking as the door closed and she heard the water beginning to run. She thought about how Minato and her were going to live their lives after this. Could they set themselves free and live their lives, settle down, and have children? Or would the Fates not be so kind to them?

As she began picking up and putting on her clothes, she thought about the Fates. The real Gods of this universe...unless they were killed, no one could be free. And of course, the only people who _could_ kill them were members of S.E.E.S. Or others who had the power of the Persona.

She sighed and looked down at the cigarettes on the table. Fuuka had always been nagging her to quit ever since their reunion a few years ago. They both knew that there were no health repurcussions for a persona user (having complete control over one's spiritual energy flows did a wonder for one's health), but still, Fuuka was always insistent on the matter.

She looked outside the window, over at the obelisk imposing its shadow over the plaza.

Even if you snuff out the darkness, light will always create a shadow from which new evil shall arise...how could they stop this new tide of evil? Just before they left, an airliner crashed over the Pacific Ocean, killing all three-hundred onboard. The cause was officially attributed to engine failure, but Yukari knew better. They all knew better.

That flight was carrying a leader of the Teutonic Knights. The forces of evil had no problem with murdering hundreds – even thousands of innocents in order to kill one person. Various ParaPol leaders and members were being killed across the world – at least the S.E.E.S. intelligence. It was only a matter of time before they began targeting S.E.E.S. as well.

But she let those thoughts linger for now. Because as Minato opened the bathroom door, carrying their equipment in his hands.

As Yukari laughed a little at Minato's hairstyle, obviously stolen from Akihiko.

As Minato got dressed and the two of them armed themselves for a new patrol, she knew they were free.


	9. Ninth Story

Shin Megami Tensei  
Persona 3: Carpe Diem

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Persona 3, SMT, or any characters within. They belong to Atlus.

**Ninth Story – It's About Damn Time**

JANUARY 8, 2016

TOKYO

Akihiko looked down on the ground, looked down on his own black shoes as he and Mitsuru walked arm in arm down the city streets of Tokyo.

It was a cold night, and they both wore heavy jackets, but there was a reason for this unreasonable venture into the world tonight. For Mitsuru, it was another assessment on the Lake of Fire incident and an opportunity to learn more about the shadows.

For Akihiko, it was his chance to become a man.

"Thanks for accompanying me, Akihiko. I needed someone on this trip," Mitsuru said as the two of them passed by an old and abandoned amusement park. The Lake of Fire Incident had done more damage than originally thought. Paranormal activity around Tokyo Bay spiked, and several businesses declared bankruptcy because of fear-paralyzed customers. On the bright side, the tourism industry grew by leaps and bounds as foreigners wanted to see the "haunted bay".

If only they knew what transpired in that warehouse five years ago. The warehouse where they had been tortured and used as ingredients to bring back the Dark Hour was gone now. In its stead was an extremely large hotel owned and operated by the Kirijo Group. Right across the street was one of Chairman Tanaka's hotels.

"_Fuuka, do you read me?"_ Mitsuru asked via her persona. Her telepathic powers were getting slightly easier to use as time passed, so much so that she could speak to Fuuka and Chidori while simultaneously doing something else.

"_Yes, Mitsuru, I'm linking with your senses right now, just a moment," Fuuka replied._

"_Good. Make good use of my persona's capabilities to detect spiritual residue, okay?"_

"_Roger. Fuuka, out."_

"It's no problem, Mitsuru," Akihiko said, simultaneously during Mitsuru's telepathic conversation.

Mitsuru nodded to him, before pointing to the harbor. It stood empty now. Unlike in the Tartarus Campaign, almost everything about the Lake of Fire Incident was remembered by the general public. _Almost_. A secret mission to America in 2011 ensured that the world population forgot about S.E.E.S.'s involvement in the incident – or even its existence altogether.

But not all could be forgotten. The inhabitants of Tokyo remembered that something had happened five years ago. Something that created so many Apathy Syndrome patients around Tokyo Bay that the body of water was almost declared an emergency zone.

"Remember that bay...when its surface ignited into flames...when I spoke out against the L.O.S.T. Commander?" Mitsuru asked.

"Yeah, I remember. Everyone else was scared shitless but you! You kept your cool Mitsuru..." Akihiko said, looking at her and remembering that day when life went back to "normal" for them.

"Truth be told...I was mortified. I _really_ thought we were going to die...I don't know why I'm getting all sentimental about this. It's probably because I haven't been back to this city – this battlefield, in so many years."

It was true. Mitsuru hadn't gone past Yakushima Island since the Lake of Fire Incident. She was always so busy with her work at S.E.E.S. that she could never find time for herself. If Akihiko wanted to spend time with her, they did so either in a public place like the lounge or cafeteria, or in their bedrooms. And those times together were getting farther and farther between as Mitsuru ordered Akihiko around the world to do missions for S.E.E.S. ranging from collecting antiquated books to killing a demon.

"It's been a while, hasn't it? Akihiko asked, clasping his hand in Mitsuru's as they had done so many times before.

"Akihiko, I...five years ago, this isn't what I expected my life to become. I saw you, I saw Japan, but I never saw _this_..." she said, bringer her arm in a sweep of the area, eventually bringing it down and pointing at their holstered evokers.

"It's the tragic cycle of the Arcanum...we liberate ourselves only to be swept back under the wings of our own demise. We're tied to fate, but at the same time, we exercise our own free will."

Mitsuru smiled when Akihiko said that, before taking her arm away from his.

"Come on, that's too philosophical for you. Who said that, Ryoji? Minato?" Mitsuru laughed, knowing all too well that her Akihiko was too dumb for that.

"Neither. You see things on the front line you don't see in the command bunker back at Yakushima. People say things...Mitsuru, things are starting to heat up. Each time I go on a mission or visit one of our outposts, people say strange things, act differently than they normally would. Somethings going on," Akihiko said, drawing his gaze from Mitsuru towards the amusement park on the other side of the bay, now dilapidated and vacant.

"Aki..." Mitsuru muttered, before Akihiko turned back to face her.

"You haven't called me that in a long time, Mitsuru," Akihiko said, slightly grinning from the moment. Mitsuru blushed, making her cheeks match her hair.

"Uh, well, I..."

"Mitsuru, we may be chained to Fate, never being able to break the bonds it has forged upon us; but we can continue to exercise our own free will upon those bonds. I think right now I'm going to exercise my right to free will."

"_This is it, Akihiko. You can do this!"_ Akihiko said to himself before taking Mitsuru's hand and kneeling down on one knee before Mitsuru, right in front of the hotel where they had escaped arrest by the National Police Agency.

"Mitsuru, will you marry me?" he asked, pulling out a crimson and silver box from his pocket and opening it up to reveal...nothing, really.

"No ring?" Mitsuru said blankly as Akihiko was sitting there, grinning like a fool in the middle of Tokyo, before he realized what he'd just done.

"Oh, shit."

"Why does this remind me of something in the past? Well, no matter," Mitsuru said, pulling Akihiko up from the ground and taking the box from his hands only to throw it away on the ground.

"Ring aside, it's about damn time you said this. Geez, Aki, it took you long enough," she said, cocking her head to one side and raising an eyebrow in a mixture of amusement and frustration.

"Wait, so...is that-"

"That's a yes. But since you forgot the ring, I won't be nice about it."

"_Mitsuru, the spirit analysis from the bay is ready at your disposal...hey...Mitsuru? Mitsuru?"_ Fuuka had attempted to contact Mitsuru, but the latter had sealed her persona back into the sea of her soul as she came closer towards Akihiko.

"You better put on a good wedding. With a cake and lots of flowers...I'd like that," she said as her face brushed up against his, creating a certain warmth in the air, even though it was January.

"Is that an order?" Akihiko asked slyly, bringing his lips to brush up against hers.

"I could be. Do you want to check into that hotel?" she asked him as she kissed him slowly.

"Sure, why not?" he said, just before Mitsuru pulled away from him and tapped him on the nose with her finger.

"Sorry, but you forgot the ring. Now we get to spend the evening examining spirit energy residuals and energy flows. Isn't that exciting!"

Akihiko's head dropped as Mitsuru resummoned her persona.

"_Hey, Fuuka! Guess what? Akihiko asked me to marry him."_

"_Mitsuru...that's...that's great! It's a bit late, though. I'm surprised he actually went ahead and did it!"_

"_I know!"_

While the girls continued to chat telepathically, leaving Akihiko virtually alone, he kicked himself for forgetting his proposal ring.

ELSEWHERE

"So, did you remember to give Akihiko's ring back to him when you were done 'reviewing' it?" Junpei asked, slumped over drinking a can of beer in the S.E.E.S. cafeteria.

Sitting next to him, a bewildered Kenji slapped his forehead.

"What, don't tell me you didn't give it back to him," Junpei chuckled. When Kenji ordered a shot of whiskey and didn't say anything else, Junpei shook his head.

"Well, at least it's _his_ fault for forgetting to get it back from you in the first place."

Kenji downed his shot of liquor without saying anything else, forcing Junpei to slap his head in return.


	10. Tenth Story

Shin Megami Tensei

Persona 3: Carpe Diem

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Persona 3, SMT, or any characters within. They belong to Atlus.

**Tenth Story – Welcome to My World**

NOVEMBER 12, 2011

"So this George Sears guy, what's up with him?" Hidetoshi asked. In all frankness he was the only one of the three who could even _speak_ right now: Kenji and Kaz were stuffing their faces with the chocolate Chairman Tanaka kept in his mini-fridge.

They were traveling on I-95, before the driver took an exit off of I-10 to their destination in Tallahassee.

"He's the Master Mason of the American Order of Free Masons, the American counterpart to S.E.E.S., although more _professional_ if you ask me," Tanaka said, pointing at the two boys devouring his stash of confectionery delights.

"And why does Mitsuru-san want him abducted? I can't see how this is going to help S.E.E.S. in any way," Hidetoshi said, talking with his hands in the same manner that Chairman Tanaka usually did.

"You're going to abduct him because he holds a seat in the Valley of the Queens."

"Valley of the Queens?" Hidetoshi asked, suddenly confused.

"It's an organization very similar to the Valley of the K – wait...you've never been briefed on this stuff, have you?" Tanaka asked after noticing Hidetoshi's face moving from confusion to sheer mental breakdown.

"Okay, well, I'll give you a crash course: the Valley of the Queens is a commission chaired by the seven most powerful ParaPols in the world, and-"

"ParaPol? What the hell..."

"It's short for 'Paranormal Police', it's what S.E.E.S. is. Now, don't interrupt me again, kid. Right now, those seats are filled by: The Vatican, the Knights of Malta, the Knights Templar, the Free Masons, the Shaolin Monks, Afro-American Shamans, and the Caliphate of Mecca. Needless to say, we need to kick one of them off of their throne if we want to be taken seriously in the world."

"And that's where this dude comes in? We're planning on taking the Free Masons spot in this...Valley of the Queens?"

"No. We're going to convince the Free Masons to stop endorsing one of the other members, effectively forcing them to resign."

"We're going to use the space station as a beacon for mind control, right? Why not just take over their-"

"Won't work, kid. These guys have been aware of their nascent spiritual energy for hundreds – even _thousands_ of years. Simple telepathic control won't work over them."

"So how will _kidnapping_ be any better!?" Hidetoshi asked, clearly not faithful in this plan.

"Trust me, it'll work. That's why they had _me_ tag along. Now then, I'll leave you three to discuss anything else you want while I go to sleep. Wake me up when the driver stops, I've instructed him only to stop in Tallahassee, so those chocolate laxatives you boys are eating, yeah, keep enjoying them," Tanaka said, fully enjoying the look on Kenji and Kazushi's faces when they leaned over behind their seats to spit out whatever sweets were left in their mouths.

"Thanks for warning us, _asshole_," Kenji said, turning around to move down the small isle in the limo and grab one of the large bottles of soda sitting on the top of yet another mini-fridge.

"You're welcome. Now shut the hell up, I'm trying to sleep!" Tanaka said, closing his eyes and putting his head down on the lap of the blond woman who was in the car with them. Amidst the various coughing noises that Kenji and Kazushi made every once in a while, Hidetoshi waited patiently until he was sure Tanaka was asleep before making any small talk with the woman.

"So...uh, who _are_ you?" Hidetoshi asked, prompting the woman to focus her gaze from the sleeping Tanaka to the boy.

"Natasha Chernenko. And that's all you'll need to know," she said, her voice was cold and unwelcoming. Just outside the window, they could see storm clouds forming over Florida.

"That's all I'll need to know? Come on, I know you're somehow related to the ParaPols and I'm not stupid. And as a future officer of S.E.E.S., I think I need to know more than your name."

"Oh? A future officer? My, someone's confident," Natasha chuckled, turning her head to look out the window.

"Hey! Don't mock me. After this mission, I'm being-"

"Being what, I wonder? You kids in S.E.E.S. have no idea how the ParaPols work, do you? Tell me, how long has S.E.E.S. been around for? Ten, maybe fifteen years? All I'll say is that you kids are babies on the battlefield. And _that_ is all you'll need to know. Now don't speak to me again unless you need a smoke," she said, reaching into her breast for a pack of cigarettes and into Tanaka's breast pocket for a lighter.

"No thanks, I don't smoke," he said, forcing Natasha to blow smoke in Hidetoshi's general direction.

"I suppose you don't drink, either? Is this your first mission for a ParaPol, boy?"

"I don't drink and, no. This is my _second_ mission," Hidetoshi added. He tried adding an emphasis on the 'second', just for humor, to emulate Junpei or Kenji. It didn't work.

"Still a virgin to the business. Don't worry. Once you've seen the evil in this world, you'll be asking your buddies for a smoke soon enough...vengeful ghosts possessing serial killers. Vampires ripping the heads from mothers and children. Tribal demi-gods angry at being displaced by a major religion...there's a lot of shit for you to see, boy. Let's hope you retain your sanity at the end of your life."

It was about this time that, sensing the commotion around him, Tanaka woke up, rubbing his eyes after about an hour of sleep and very pissed off that he couldn't doze off until they reached their destination.

"Alright...who's the prick who woke me up?" Tanaka asked sleepily, prompting Kazushi to point at Hidetoshi from his side of the limo.

"Actually, it was probably me, Tana-kun, sorry about that," Natasha said, to the mild amusement of Hidetoshi.

"Tana-kun?"

"Listen, kid. If word of that _ever_ leaks out: you're dead," Tanaka said, angrily pointing a finger at Hidetoshi and bearing his teeth.

"Yeah, well, you won't have a hard time killing him. The boy actually believes ParaPols are all fun and games," Natasha said, putting out her cigarette in the ash tray next to them.

"I wouldn't doubt it. Considering they have the power of the Persona and all," Tanaka said, rubbing the remaining sand out of his eyes, causing Natasha to cock her head at Hidetoshi with extreme speed, looking him over in detail.

"What? Checking him out or something? _They_ can't summon their persona yet, but they'll be in training soon."

"Training? You can't _train_ someone to learn power of that magnitude!" Natasha said rather loudly, prompting Tanaka to get off of her lap and sit up straight, fixing his suit in the process.

"Nope. Sorry, already been done. The leader of S.E.E.S. was 'trained' to do it and so can these kids," Tanaka said, at least before Kenji and Kazushi started burping rather loudly after their fifth liter of soda.

"Well..._some _of these kids, anyway."

"So...you people really _do_ possess the eighth power, don't you?" Natasha asked again, pulling out another cigarette, but refusing to light it, putting her arm around Tanaka and drawing closer to him.

"Duh. That's what I just said," Tanaka said, slightly falling to the floor, apparently asleep again. That was before it became apparent to Hidetoshi that a rather large dart was sticking out of Tanaka back.

"What the hell!"

"Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit, _and_ you get to keep your life," Natasha said, pulling a small gun from her bosom before pointing it at Hidetoshi. "Sweet dreams, _officer_." she said as she pulled the trigger. Just before Hidetoshi hit the floor, he could hear two more gunshots, muffled by the sound of Natasha's voice.

Pulling a cell phone from her pocket, Natasha's conversation could be heard in the fleeting moments of Hidetoshi's consciousness.

"Yes, sir...mission accom-...no, si-...eighth...perso...now..."

And just like that, Hidetoshi passed out in the back of a limo, in the middle of a country he didn't understand nor want to be in, shot by a mysterious woman who was neither ally nor enemy. _Perfect_.


	11. Eleventh Story

Shin Megami Tensei

Persona 3: Carpe Diem

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Persona 3, SMT, or any characters within. They belong to Atlus. (George Sears belongs to Hideo Kojima)

Author's Note: Nope. No cliffhanger ending for Carpe Diem. It shall be seen through to the end, ParaPol and CD will be written simultaneously because I'm an impatient bastard.

**Eleventh Story – Yes Ma'am!**

JULY 9, 2016

Fuuka stood over Mitsuru's shoulder, holding one of the largest bouquet of multicolored roses she had seen in her life. Mitsuru herself was standing in front of a mirror, wearing a pure white wedding dress that clung to her body as if it were surrounded by static electricity.

She was getting ready in a small office on the side of the all-faith chapel. Specifically, this might have been Akihiko's old office before he removed himself from office work to go back into the field, much to Mitsuru's chagrin.

"Mitsuru, I'm so glad for you! I never imagined this would happen – er, I mean...you know, with Akihiko's-"

Mitsuru laughed a little, looking at Fuuka in the mirror as a civic android was helping Mitsuru fit her dress.

"It's no problem, Fuuka. I know what you mean. I'm actually amazed myself that Akihiko had enough courage to ask me to marry him!" Mitsuru said, bringing her hand to her mouth while she was laughing. Undoubtedly this was probably the most feminine she had looked in her entire life (and probably would be until the end of her life).

Her hair was tied up in a bun, held together by a single chopstick. Her lipstick complimented her hair well, and, just for good measure, she had worn contacts today instead of her glasses.

"_I believe you are ready, Kirijo-san._" the android said in its monotone voice, proceeding to walk over to the door. _"Shall I let your father in now?"_

"Certainly!" Mitsuru said, turning around to face the door in anticipation for...Chairman Tanaka?

"Sorry, Mitsuru. Takeharu is taking a little longer at your mother's grave than I thought, so he sent me in his stead, just in case the wedding started before he arri-"

"Wait! Tanaka!" someone shouted from down the hall, prompting Tanaka to step off to the side, allowing the man they all knew as Takeharu Kirijo to burst through the door frame, only to be caught by the civic android.

"_Hello sir. How may I be of service?"_ the android said to a struggling Takeharu. He set himself free from its grasp pretty easily enough, before straightening his suit and his posture to face his daughter.

"So, Father. How do I look?" Mitsuru asked, holding out her arms and spinning around one time.

"Mitsuru...you look _gorgeous_." he said, coming closer to hug his daughter.

"Mitsuru...I'm proud of you. I'm proud as your commanding officer but, more important, as your father..."

Mitsuru easily returned the hug as Fuuka came around the side to face the two of them.

"Well then, Mitsuru. It's time." Fuuka said, pointing towards the door.

"Yeah, well, can you hurry this up, _please_. I have an appointment with some Australian investors in a few hours, and you know how hard it is to get to the surface from this level," Tanaka said, walking over to the chapel doors. "Oh, and Mitsuru, congratulations."

"Thank you, _Mister_ Tanaka," Mitsuru said, offering her arm our to her father, who took it graciously and escorted Mitsuru over to Tanaka's location.

"Yeah, yeah, don't think that just because you're getting married that I'll get off your back about a return on my investment!" he snapped, but in a friendly manner, opening the opaque glass door to the chapel. Inside, Mitsuru could instantly see the chapel was packed. Most of those in attendance were S.E.E.S. Officers, many of which had attended Gekkoukan at the same time as Mitsuru.

In the front rows were the founding members of S.E.E.S., including Chidori and Junpei's two small children: Takaya and Jin Iori (it had been Chidori's idea to name them that way). Over to the right hand side of the chapel were three portraits of Ryoji, Minato, and Yukari. Although they could not be there physically, they would never be separated spiritually. Aigis was presiding over the ceremony once again, clad in black and white robes, she had a large smile on her face, obviously full of glee to see this occasion occur.

And finally, standing in front of the altar where Aigis was standing was Akihiko, the man whose name she would soon take. He was dressed in a near-white suit, it was slightly silver, adding to the attraction as it matched his hair.

His smile would have been good enough, but the fact that the audience was also in awe made her feel special. The women were smiling and the various men had their jaws dropped. She always used to get this type of reaction back in Gekkoukan, but this was the first time she was actually _aware_ of it. And it felt _good_.

As the two of them, father and daughter, walked down the isle, Takeharu came a little closer to Mitsuru to whisper something in his daughter's ear.

"Geez, it took him eleven years to propose to you? He better take _damn_ good care of you, or I'll take care of him!" he whispered.

Mitsuru wanted to scold her father, but couldn't seem to bring herself to accept the thought of her slapping her father in the middle of _her_ wedding. She decided that punishment would wait.

When she got to Akihiko, she was _almost_ impressed by his demeanor. That is to say, if he looked more excited than nervous, she would've been sold. Akihiko bowed to Takeharu, who returned the bow in kind. This was the first time in a long while that anyone had seen Takeharu _this_ happy.

"So, chose a white Western wedding after all, eh?" Akihiko asked is a hushed voice, slightly smiling.

"Yeah, well. I'll tell you about it after this is over," she replied, before Aigis began the ceremony. She spoke in an overly formal tone of Japanese that didn't make much sense, even in this situation. But that was perfectly alright to all of them. Even if Aigis was talking in a tone that would put the Emperor to shame, all that mattered now was the 'here' and the 'now'. Mitsuru actually felt kind of bad for spoiling Junpei's wedding all those years ago. Seeing as neither of them had complained, though, she guessed she didn't have anything to feel guilty about.

"Please exchange the rings now," Aigis said, barely able to keep herself from bursting into tears.

It wasn't just a wedding, it was the manifestations of everyone hopes and dreams. For eleven years, Mitsuru and Akihiko had been waiting for this moment. Maybe, if the members of S.E.E.S. remained steadfast in their beliefs long enough, then their own peace would come.

As Akihiko slid his silver ring onto Mitsuru's finger, he didn't doubt it one bit. They would deliver themselves from evil so that the night may once again be a symbol of love.

Mitsuru slid her ring of gold onto Akihiko's finger, signifying the end of the ceremony, and prompting Aigis to clap her hands in delight.

"Wonderful! Now, if the two of you will please sign the register," Aigis said, pointing to a small book laid out upon the altar. Akihiko took something out of his pocket: his family stamp, and punched the register.

Mitsuru signing, however, was more symbolic. She could no longer use her own family stamp, instead handing it back to her father, who took it in one of his hands while extending a pen in another. Taking the pen, she bent down to the register to sign her new name: Sanada Mitsuru.

And it was done. Aigis proclaimed that they could now kiss each other, prompting Mitsuru to put down her pen and violently force herself upon Akihiko for a few fleeting seconds before they broke apart.

"Well...I bet your mother would be proud, of both events," Takeharu said, putting his hands on Mitsuru's shoulders and looking deep into her eyes.

"What do you mean, fa-"

Suddenly, Takeharu released his grip from Mitsuru and unpinned the black star on his chest, putting it in Mitsuru's palm before closing her hand around it.

"Congratulation, _commander_."

"Wait, what?"

"As of today, I resign my post as Commander of S.E.E.S., in my stead, I appoint my daughter, Mitsuru _Sanada_," he said, looking over at Akihiko for a brief moment, "from Adjutant Commander of S.E.E.S. to Supreme Commander. May you find the Light within yourself, my daughter." he said, hugging her before facing the chapel doors, as if to leave.

"Father...where will you go?" Mitsuru asked. After the Board of Directors chose Mitsuru to head the Kirijo Group instead of Takeharu – noting declining profits (no doubt because of the huge expenses required by S.E.E.S.), S.E.E.S. was all her father had left.

"I asked a friend of mine the same question just before he disappeared. Do you know what he said? I shall go to break the tragic cycle of the Arcanum, so that the world may be a better place and I may have a firm constitution to finally rest."

"Ryoji!" Aigis shouted out, her hands shaking. Takeharu turned around to look at the android, before replying in the affirmative.

"Yes. Ryoji Mochizuki was his name. Now we chase the same goal and walk on the same path...I will return with Ryoji, but not before we set ourselves free," he said, turning back around and beginning to walk towards the doors.

"And if you fail?" Mitsuru asked, not quite confident in their whole plan, if one could even call it that.

Takeharu didn't answer that question, he kept on walking towards the doors. No one stopped him. No one _could_ stop him. In that moment, something inside them all changed. They were no longer simple men and women doing a public service. No. They were ParaPols, and they would ride the storm until the darkness turned to light, even if it cost them their lives.

Takeharu disappeared past the opaque glass doors and for a few moments it seemed as if no one would follow him, before Mitsuru ran towards the doors and pushed them open. But her father was already gone. Something told her he would be back, but until that day came, that was the last anyone had ever heard of Takeharu Kirijo.


	12. Twelfth Story

Shin Megami Tensei

Persona 3: Carpe Diem

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Persona 3, SMT, or any characters within. They belong to Atlus.

**Twelfth Story – George Sears**

When Hidetoshi woke up he had a massive headache and his chest felt numb, this, along with the fact that he was currently tied to a chair in a brightly lit room didn't help matters either.

"Ah, my head...what the hell happened?"

"Sheesh, you're finally awake, took ya' long enough," he could hear a familiar voice say.

"Kenji? Is that you!?"

"Yeah! Look behind you, man," Kenji said. Hidetoshi looked behind him to find that Kenji was tied in a chair set only a few meters away from him.

"Where are Tanaka and Kaz?" Hidetoshi asked.

"Hell if I know. All I remember is getting shot by that hot lady. Do you know where we are?"

"No."

"Do you know who that lady was?"

"Some lady named Natasha Chernenko-"

"When do you think-"

"Jesus Kenji, enough with the questions!" Hidetoshi said loudly, frustrated with Kenji's incessant, child-like demands for answers. He honestly had no earthly answer to them anyway. All he knew right now was that this concrete hell of a room wasn't ergonomically designed and that that Natasha lady was one _mean_ woman.

"Sorry man, but you were talking to her before, so I just assumed-"

"Assumed what? That she'd tell me that she was going to shoot us with tranq and drag us to some...whatever the hell this place is?"

When no answer came from Kenji, Hidetoshi mentally slapped himself for asking that question.

"I can't believe you actually assumed that. Regardless, we have to find a way _out_ of here," Hidetoshi said, trying his best to untie himself from the chair. Unfortunately, plastic ties don't easily shred themselves, especially against human fingernails.

He sighed. Aside from Kenji and himself, the concrete room was almost completely featureless. There were no windows: the only light came from an extremely bright light somewhere in the ceiling. Like in the S.E.E.S. Complex, this room's ceiling was unimaginably high. There was a door to Hidetoshi's right. It was a steel door, no doubt impenetrable from the inside. Beside the steel door was a mirror. Either that or a one-way mirror with that damn _woman_ behind it.

"Hey, _bitch_! I hope you're happy! We don't know who you are or what you did to us, but we're pissed!"

"Wow, 'Toshi, I've never heard you curse before!" Kenji said out loud, prompting Hidetoshi to quickly glance over his shoulder the best he could in this situation.

"What did you just call me!?" Hidetoshi asked in shock, just as the two of them could hear the bolts on the steel doors begin to click before it opened.

"What? I just didn't want to have to pronounce your full name, so-"

"That's not the issue here! It's probably one of those things I'd accept if it was...you know..._not _you, Kenji."

"That hurts, dude. That hurts."

The two of them continued arguing while a bemused Tanaka stood over them with Natasha by his side. Of course this time, Tanaka didn't have his hands any place where they shouldn't be.

Natasha cleared her throat as loudly as she could, prompting the two boys to look over at her and Tanaka with mixed feelings of relief, anger, and confusion.

"_Well_, I see you two are awake."

"And lively," Tanaka said in as much of a monotone voice as he could.

"Hey man, what the hell! What gives!? How come you're untied and we're not!?" Hidetoshi yelled as Tanaka pulled out a pair of sunglasses from his suit and put them on, ruffling his hair a little to match his 'look' from a few years back. Back before he knew S.E.E.S. Before all of this happened.

"Why you're not untied? Let's see...hm, probably because of that little temper tantrum you just threw," Tanaka said sarcastically, pulling out a small utility knife from his suit as well.

"This thing works wonders, by the way. Opens wine bottles, cuts your fingernails, gets you loose from hostage situations," Tanaka said, before Natasha spoke up to the boys.

"Actually, I set him free. Now we shall set _you_ free, unfortunately," Natasha said, grabbing the knife from Tanaka's hands and heading over to Kenji first to quickly slit the ties that bonded Kenji to the chair. Kenji turned around to thank the woman for releasing him, before remembering that _she_ was the one to blame for this entire situation.

She then moved on to Hidetoshi after Kenji said nothing and cut his ties. He brought his hands in front of his face, inspecting them, before quickly testing his reflexes and saying a quick "thank you" that was more a formality rather than a genuine feeling of gratitude.

"Good, now that the gang is all assembled, can we _please_ get back to business," Tanaka asked, pulling out a cigar before Natasha slapped it out of his hand.

"This is a _no smoking_ facility, Tanaka!"

"Hey! Hey! Hey! These kids aren't supposed to know my name until _after-_"

"I'm not a member of your organization, so I don't care. Come on, boys. Follow me," Natasha said rather bluntly, leaving a look of disappointment on Tanaka's face.

"Wait!" Hidetoshi said, reaching his arm out towards Natasha's shoulder just as she turned around and slapped it away. "W – Where's Kazushi?" he asked, uncertain as to his friend's fate.

"Oh, the other boy with you? It turns out he and our leader have some very common interests. You'll see him shortly," Natasha said, shortly pausing before opening the steel door once more.

"Don't hate us, we're only doing our job. Just like you," Natasha said before taking a key card out from the hem of her skirt and waving it in front of the door. The locks could be heard clicking again, before the giant steel door slid into the wall to reveal a hallway equally as featureless as the room the two boys were held in. Maybe this is how S.E.E.S. would turn out in a thousand years...that is, if S.E.E.S. - or the human race, even – survived that long.

"Grey on grey. I like the color scheme," Hidetoshi remarked snarkingly. It wasn't like Hidetoshi to be this annoyed. After he became friends with Minato, he vowed he would use his energy to be positive and help people.

But, given the circumstances, he judged even Minato had a right to be angry.

"So, where are you taking us? Another holding cell? Our execution? What?" Hidetoshi asked.

"Or the cafeteria, I'm starving!" Kenji said, trying to break the tense atmosphere between the all.

Tanaka remained silent, thinking to himself why he had to get involved in this stupid mission.

Natasha, on the other hand, didn't stop, didn't turn around, and most certainly didn't raise her voice beyond a monotone, robotic level.

"Actually, none of those. _You_ are meeting the man whom you yourselves were supposed to kidnap. Ironic, isn't it?"

"I think I would appreciate the irony more if I wasn't the one who was kidnapped," Hidetoshi snapped back.

Without even noticing it, the boys were walking from the dull grey concrete of their holding cell's hallway into a glorious pearl-white marble corridor that was decorated with some of the finest sculpting Hidetoshi had ever seen. The transition between the two was so perfect that he didn't know he was in a different part of the base until they reached a pair of large wooden doors, which easily dwarfed all four humans outside.

Next to the doors, built into the wall, was an intercom system. Beside that was a small computer screen, showing an apparent map of the base. According to the map, Hidetoshi noted that they were currently...on the hundredth level of the complex? That couldn't be right.

Natasha went over to the intercom and pushed a small red button. Static filled the air just as she began to talk.

"Sir, the last two prisoners have awoken. Shall I send them in?"

There was moment of silence, before a man's voice could be heard over the intercom. Speaking in perfect, formal, and slightly accented English, the man spoke up.

"Yes, thank you for doing what I've asked, Natasha. I'll buzz you in."

Just as the man's voice was cut off, a loud buzzing noise could be heard. Natasha gripped the golden handle of the door and pulled it open, revealing a lush and luxurious office. The floor was covered in a Persian rug, the walls made of redwood, a desk ornately crafted throughout the generations from actual wood from the Ark of Noah; said to be the finest in the world.

Even the electronics in the room were pure black and blended well with the décor around them. But the main feature was behind the desk. Behind the two men laughing their troubles away over some taped footage between a 2010 baseball game between the Tokyo Giants and the New York Yankees (organized personally by the man sitting behind the desk).

On the far side of the room were floor-to-ceiling windows that revealed the most beautiful underground garden that they had ever seen. A waterfall that originated high above, on the surface, led to a small pond down below. Even the surrounding steel and concrete were engineered to be both structurally strong and aesthetically pleasing when viewed next to the garden.

The group could clearly see Kazushi, who was sitting on a couch a few meters away from the desk.

The man in the high-backed chair behind the desk, however, could not be seen. Only his grey hair was visible, before he pushed a button on the chair's armrest and paused the taped footage.

"Are they all here, Natasha?"

"Yes, sir. I have brought the new Japanese ParaPols," Natasha said, bowing her head in respect even though the man couldn't see her.

"Very well. Thank you, Natasha. You may take your leave, now."

Natasha bowed once again, turning her back towards them and leaving the room without saying another word, before the man in the high-backed chair whipped it around to face them all.

Hidetoshi and Kenji gasped in awe. Tanaka raised an eyebrow as to their surprise.

The man was tall: at _least_ two meters. An old Caucasian male with full grey hair and a short beard and mustache. His right eye was covered with an eye-patch and he wore a long, tan overcoat with a simple emblem on the left sleeve: the square and compass. The emblem of the Free Masons.

"You're..."

"George Sears. Head of the American Order of Free Masons, Queen of Hearts in the Valley of the Queens, and North American Knight of the Round Table...Tanaka, I assume your mission is failed, then?" the man asked, pulling out a box of cigars and offering them all one. All but Tanaka declined.

"Thanks, I thought this was a no smoking facility?" he asked, pulling out a lighter and clipper from his suit.

"No, we just set that rule up to annoy _you_, my friend. So...what does the Asian Knight have to bring to this fair discussion?" the man asked again. Though he matched the description...the picture, even. Nobody was sure if this man was the man whom they sought. Nobody but Tanaka, and none of the boys were willing to interrupt these two old men in their talk. This was "adult time". The time where the old and the wicked conspired against the young and the pure.

"So, you still haven't-"

"On the contrary, _Director_ Sears. My mission has just begun."

"Oh?" he asked, puffing on his cigar a bit before continuing. "And what would that be?"

"To dethrone one of the Queens," Tanaka said bluntly, forcing Mr. Sears to nearly choke on his cigar.

"_What_ did you just say!?"

"You know perfectly well what I just said. There's no other way Natasha would've been in Cuba with me if you hadn't personally sent her to check up on me," he added, choosing to walk over to the couch where Kazushi was sitting and sat down next to him.

"And you also know that Asia once again has a competent ParaPol to compete with you Westerners. You know who I speak of, and who I want gone..." Tanaka said, taking a deep breathe through his cigar and smiling.

"Is this Cuban, by the way?"

"No. It comes from the volcanic soil of the Dominican Republic, which is a nice substitute," Mr. Sears said. The two gentlemen, although at odds over the current topic, never really erupted into anything more than meaningful dialogue and friendly chatter.

"Ah, I see."

"No, you don't. Legitimate American businessmen sometimes like to pass this stuff on as Cuban, selling it at an exorbitant price. You yourself couldn't tell the different. Now, if you can't even tell the difference in a good cigar, how can I expect a man such as yourself to tell the difference in ParaPols? Because, after all, we're dealing with _much more_ than money here...in our business, the stocks are made of human souls."

"You act as if I don't know such a thing. Why then, would I put all of my investments into a single ParaPol? Quite simple: they've saved the world one more time than yours has, and that's all I need to know."

Mr. Sears laughed a little, puffing on his cigar before answering Tanaka and throwing his argument back in his face.

"Save the world? _Please._ Any high school kid with a laptop and an internet connection can simultaneously cause a doomsday scenario _and_ save the world at the same time."

"From three-thousand year old magic that brought about the appearance of the Harbinger of Death – including Death's Incarnation? As well as...oh, wait. They've saved the world _two_ times more than your organization has. Fancy that, huh?" asked, grinning a little.

"I don't suppose both of these incidents are related to the events in Japan in the last two years?" Mr. Sears replied.

"They are _one in the same_. In fact, I won't be surprised if they have _more_ world-saving to do."

"Hm...and are _these_ the kids that twice saved the world from paranormal evil?" he asked.

"No, these are recruits. The _real_ _deal_ is back in Japan. And get this, they've all got the _Eighth Power._"

Once again, Mr. Sears almost coughed on his cigar before continuing.

"You mean _Persona?_ How...oh, bollucks! That's just a myth!" he said, raising his voice.

"I'm not lying. In fact, these kids have lived through events that your ParaPol has only known as myths and legends for the past thousand years. I'm _sure_ you'll be understanding when the Queens meet next month in Rome?" Tanaka asked, a grin so wide that Kazushi was slightly scared of it.

"Heaven be damned if you're lying, Tanaka. If you tell the truth...I suppose you really do deserve the title of Asian Knight."

"So you agree with me after all, then!?" Tanaka asked excitedly, getting up from the couch.

"Only if you're right," Mr. Sears replied, forcing Tanaka to sit down and fold his arms, shaking the ashes off of his suit and onto the couch.

"Whatever floats your boat, _buddy_. The fact remains that I'm right. The only thing you have to do is figure out who's going to get dethroned."

"Probably the Caliphate of Mecca. It's not as if the Middle East can't be handled alone by the Knights of Malta. After all, what could go wrong?"

"_Exactly._"

Author's Note:

Yes, I know George Sears is Solidus Snake. A small tribute to the series who's format I'm copying for the RES series.


	13. Final Story

Shin Megami Tensei

Persona 3: Carpe Diem

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Persona 3, SMT, or any characters within. They belong to Atlus.

**Final Story – Carpe Diem**

MARCH 5, 2017

MANILA, PHILIPPINES

Minato was sitting in a crowded internet cafe in a large shopping mall, lazily scrolling through a list of web-sites and documents from his USB drive. Next to each file was a small image indicating its file type and which folder it was categorized in. There were seven folders in all, each displaying seven different emblems.

"Free Masons plan arrest for illegal herbal practice...the Vatican plans to exorcise a demon from a girl in Guatemala..." Minato said to himself, reading off a small description of each file as he pointed his cursor towards the file link.

He had Yukari to thank for this _wonderful_ job. After they had had the first attacks of spiritual apoptosis due to recession of their personas, they realized that in order to survive, they had to continuously use their personas until they died.

Minato had suggested simply sparring their personas against each other from time to time. Yukari, however, had suggested that they secretly carry out strikes against demons when they appear on the Earth by monitoring the communications of the various ParaPols on the planet – including S.E.E.S.

Seeing as she had almost complete control over his..._darker_ senses, he was forced to relent. Now he was stuck flipping through files that she was too lazy to read while she was off buying "supplies". The classic excuse he heard whenever she disappeared into the city for some reason only The Fates knew.

He loved her to death, but still, couldn't she at least help out with the very project that she had proposed?

Minato shook his head to get rid of these thoughts. It wasn't like him to complain to himself. And as he clicked the mouse again, opening a S.E.E.S. folder, his eyes lit up instantly, filling his heart with the same level of anxiety, fear, and excitement as when he first joined them.

_From: Yakushima HQ_

_To: Outpost Rome_

_Subject: Operation #778-249A_

_Your request to raid the village of Vorbledskt in order to capture a known vector of vampirism is hereby authorized with full support from the Romanian government. Operational details below:_

_D.O.O. March 5, 2017_

_Base of Operations: Romanian Army Garrison Brasov_

_Target of Operation: Vorbledskt village. Brasov province. Transylvania region. Romania._

_Authorized personnel: Outpost Rome S.E.V. To be supported by Outpost Athens' Airlift Command. Two CH-47 Chinook helicopters._

_Commanding officer: First Lieutenant Akihiko Sanada_

_Non-ParaPol support: 1st Armored Brigade of the Romanian Army_

_Signed,_

_Mitsuru Sanada_

_Director of S.E.E.S. & Operational Authority over Operation "Poison Blood"_

"Holy he-"

"Hello, Minato-kun!" Yukari said, placing her arms around Minato's neck and kissing him on the cheek. How she even managed to get into the cafe without him noticing was a mystery to her. Where she got the information on the USB was even more startling. And why she had several shopping bags lying at her feet when he turned around to reciprocate the kiss was beyond his comprehension.

"So, did you find anything?" she asked, leaning over to look at the monitor. Some local teenage boys were giggling began to stare over at Yukari's backside. A quick glare and cracking of his knuckles, however, forced the boys to resume their "work" on their computers.

He could hear Yukari mumbling, silently reading the words on the screen to herself, before standing up straight and looking at Minato with a dark look.

"This is...Minato...these are S.E.E.S. deployment orders," Yukari said, forcing Minato to nod his head in agreement.

"Yeah. And from the looks of it, Mitsuru's deploying Akihiko to 'capture' a vampire. It looks like the operation is scheduled for today."

Both of them looked at the computer again before looking back at each other. This was no time for romance; their friend's life was in danger, and they had to stop it.

S.E.E.S. had grown arrogant, fattened, and delusional from its power. The members of S.E.E.S. - especially its officers – were confident in their abilities to _directly confront_ spiritual beings. Beings such as shadows and vampires. Ghosts and gargoyles. What S.E.E.S. didn't know was that each of these spiritual beings were _different_. Although they were all undoubtedly susceptible to the power of the persona, killing a shadow was much different than killing a vampire. And _capturing_ a spiritual being...

The last time such an effort was mounted was in 1999: The Gekkoukan Incident.

"We have to stop them!" Yukari said in a hushed voice, before Minato closed the programs on the computer and removed the USB, nodding to her.

"We'll need a plane ticket, first. Luckily, I know _just_ the corrupt Japanese businessman who's willing to keep our movements a secret," Minato said, reaching into his pocket for a cell phone, before Yukari stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"_No_. No, Minato. _He's_ the S.E.E.S. Chairman, now! Have you forgotten already?" she asked, wondering if their time in the Philippines had screwed with Minato's brain.

"I haven't forgotten. In fact, that's the exact reason why we're calling him."

S.E.E.S. OUTPOST ROME

Akihiko stood outside, on the rooftop of a large, abandoned hospital. He was talking on his cell phone, or, at least trying to. The noise from the two crimson and silver Chinook helicopter behind him made it almost impossible to hear in these conditions.

"_Have you made contact with your local support for this mission yet?"_

"Yeah! He's a colonel in the Romanian military: Colonel Milovan Radic. I've worked with him before!" Akihiko shouted into the phone.

"_Okay. That's good. Oh, and Akihiko...I love you,"_

"What!? You're going to have to speak louder, Mitsuru. I can-"

"_Talk to you when you get back to Japan,"_ she said, hanging up, leaving Akihiko utterly confused. Did she just say "I love you" or "pie consumes"? Either way, he would have a whole _month_ to himself (and Mitsuru) after this mission. The anxiety was building in him each day leading up to today as he couldn't wait to get some rest.

"Lieutenant Sanada, sir! We're prepped and ready for take off!" a soldier said, coming up to him and putting his hand on Akihiko's shoulder. There were no bandages on his face, no scars, no injuries or imperfections that would blemish his image in front of his men. They would go into combat like this, and they would come out.

"Lieutenant Sanada?" the soldier asked again, nudging Akihiko to face him, also nudging Akihiko out of his thoughts.

"Right. Let's do this and get home safely," Akihiko said. The sun was beginning to rise and it was an eighteen hour flight to Brasov. With any luck, they would arrive just after midnight: the period of time when spiritual beings begin to lose their power and when mortal beings begin to gain spiritual energy.

Akihiko slapped the soldier on the shoulder and stuck his thumb out towards one of the helicopters.

"Come on, kid, you ride with me. Gotta' keep an eye on you or who knows what you'll get yourself into," he said. As much as he would've liked for that statement to be a simple friendly gesture, it was sadly true. Most of his men could barely even be called that. Granted, Akihiko was only in his mid-twenties, but these kids were barely out of high school. They were in no condition to fight. The only "old guy" other than him seemed to be the pilot of the Chinook he was walking towards, but other than a few recon missions, the two had never really gotten to know each other.

As soon as Akihiko and his young soldier compatriot made their way into the chopper, the pilot looked backwards through the open cockpit door to check on the occupants. His helmet was a shade of black that one would expect that _he_ was a demon to capture.

"Everyone's set?" the pilot asked.

"Yeah! Take her up!" Akihiko shouted back, pointing his thumbs up just as the pilot turned around once again to close the large steel cargo door behind them and lift the behemoth into the sky...

SOMEWHERE IN ROMANIA

The sun was just over the horizon as it began to rise and two men stood outside the entrance to a dark cave. Crouching down, the two of them looked at each other for a bit before looking back towards the endless expanse of darkness in front of them.

"Are you _sure_ that it's here?" the older man asked. He had rough black hair and wore an eye patch over his right eye. The man to his left simply nodded. They weren't afraid to go in...in a sense that they weren't afraid so long as they had _light_.

"I'm going in. Follow me if you will. You've remained loyal to my cause so far, and I appreciate that, but you don't have to do this," the man said, his dirty yellow scarf blowing in the wind.

"No," the man with the eye patch replied, putting his hand on his friends' shoulder. "This isn't just _your_ fight anymore..." he said. As he said it, he looked into his friends' red eyes and saw the humanity in him. He saw the desire to end this, once and for all, this "tragic cycle of the Arcanum". He saw that he was a demon no more.

"I thank you, Takeharu. Now, let us go."

They released each other from their gaze, turning their heads and bodies towards the cave and took a slight step forward. As soon as they did, when they both put their feet into the cave, they were enveloped in a world of light, before the cave's stone turned to gleaming gold and the cave entrance turned into nothing more than a wall.

An unknown light source illuminated the cave, or what was left of it. They could only see a small hallway of gold: in the center of which stood a magnificently ornate mahogany table draped in paper thing, translucent cloth. And on the top of the table stood one of the objects they had been hunting for in the last year and a half: a golden chalice with several jewels etched perfectly into the side. A cup which no mortal merchant would dare to sell, lest they lose their prosperity itself.

The Sixth Holy Relic of God. The symbol of the Power of Prosperity.

The Holy Grail.

"Go forth, Takeharu. My demonic blood prevents me from possessing that object, but a human such as you...you will see one day what your lineage is to you."

"Yeah...just on a side note, are you the same man I left with back in Yakushima?"

"I should not have to tell _you_ that, but, if you must. I am so, and I am not so. We shall discuss this matter after you have claimed the Grail."

Takeharu nodded his head, before taking a few steps forwards towards the table. It was magnificent. What price would it be worth on the current market, he wondered.

As soon as these thoughts entered Takeharu's mind, another bright flash of light engulfed him. In what seemed like a few seconds, he was thrust from the light back into the chamber. Only, he couldn't move.

Something wasn't right about the chamber, either. The mysterious light had somehow faded, and was now only lighting the chamber just enough for Takeharu to see the tiny glint of the golden chalice a few feet away. He tried to reach out for it. Tried to stretch his hands to grasp it, but it was no use. The harder he tried, the more pain entered his nerves as his frozen body would not cooperate with him. That was when he began to hear the voices.

Three female voices speaking as if they were serenading their lovers and began speaking to Takeharu. He could hear them as if they were standing right in front of him, and yet, he was sure that no one else was in the chamber but Ryoji and himself.

"_Takeharu..."_

"_Takeharu..."_

"_The time will soon come..."_

"_For you to _pay_ for your sins."_

"_Yes...pay..."_

"_Pay!"_

"_Destroy these objects of subjective reality..."_

"_Yes..."_

"_Destroy!"_

"_Take these energies from thine Earth and call this world your own..."_

"_But be forewarned our dear meddler..."_

"_Heed thine code lest the errors of your ancestors be made again..."_

"_Yes...errors!"_

"_Errors! Oh, errors!"_

"_Yes...yes..."_

"_Take from this realm the energies of singularity..."_

"_Singularity!"_

"_Yes..."_

"_And restore to your world to its innocence..."_

"_Before we restore yours..."_

"_Yes..."_

"_This is the Death..."_

"_Yes, death..."_

"_This is good? Isn't it?'_

"_Yes..."_

"_Hahaha!"_

The three female voices began to cut off, slowly fading back into his mind, laughing as they did so. In another flash of bright light, Takeharu's motor functions were restored, only this time, the chamber was once again bathed in a blinding light and standing in front of him was the very man they had hoped to keep these relics from...

"Takaya!" Takeharu shouted, instantly blown back onto the floor as a floating Takaya made his way over to the Holy Grail from the other side of the hallway. How he managed to slip in here was anybody's guess. Looking behind him as he fell, Takeharu Kirijo could see that Ryoji was impaled onto the wall by a large, red pole. Ryoji, blood spewing from his mouth, was frantically trying to release the pole from his stomach, but the demon could not conjure up enough energy for this simple task.

"I love how you've led me to yet _another_ one of my precious relics. Really, I appreciate the effort,"Takaya said, lifting his revolving towards Takeharu with his left hand while picking up and examining the grail with his right.

"It's wonderful...absolutely wonderful. Oh, and I suppose you're wondering why you can't summon your demon self, are you, Mr...oh, you're name doesn't matter to me. What do I care explaining that wonderful technology to you?" Takaya said, still keeping his revolver focused on Takeharu and grinning at the site of Ryoji slowly drowning in his own blood.

In the six years since the Lake of Fire Incident, Takaya was the only one who hadn't changed a single bit. He not only looked the same, but still carried the flawed philosophy that somehow the world could be saved if The Fall was initiated.

If only he knew.

"Takaya...what the _hell_ do you think you're doing!?" Takeharu shouted.

"Just what does it seem that I am doing? When the Four Horsemen ride, the world will be thrust into darkness, and it will need a new King! I'm merely picking up the pieces where that foolhardy bastard Ikutsuki left off! Now, let me bid you farewell so you can kill each other again, in _Hell_!" Takaya shouted, pulling the trigger to his revolver and sending Takeharu onto the ground without even knowing what hit him. The bullet pierced the right side of his abdomen, allowing Takeharu a few fleeting moments of consciousness before he succumbed to the pain.

In those moments, he saw Ryoji struggling evermore to remove the pole from his stomach and heard the laughing of the women once again...

"_It matters not who you are...Death awaits you..."_

"_Yes...Death..."_

"_But allow us no further delay...the Harbinger awaits..."_


End file.
